Kingdom Hearts, The True Light
by Myra Elric
Summary: A strange girl is saved from drowning and comes to live on Destiny Islands. With few memories of her past, she begins fighting off strange creatures that SEEM to be coming after Riku ... what are their true goals? I will update my 'what if' chapters ASAP.
1. Prelude: Voices

Prelude:

_**Voices**_

Can't breathe!

I panicked as the waves battered me over and over again.

Can't breathe!

How long have I been drowning? By now by thoughts were mixed and muddled; Lea! Is he alright? What about Ansem and Ienzo? Did the Soul Eaters get them? No!

Another wave hit me, slamming me into the sea floor. I tried to let out a scream but that only allowed more water to flood my lungs. Another wave slammed me into the seafloor, this time, ramming my head into something solid and everything went black. But I heard something in the distance … Voices! There were three separate voices; two boys and a girl. A boy with a smooth and gentle, yet panicked sound in his voice was the first one I heard, "There's a girl out there!"

After a while I felt something firm wrap around my upper back. It felt like it was dragging me across the water. "I got her!" the gentle voice gasped, "I've never seen her before, have you Sora?" A young, just-got-past-puberty sounding voice answered, "No, I don't think so. Is she okay?"

_No!_, I tried to scream, but I couldn't find my voice. "She's not breathing!" the girl panicked, her voice strained as she tried to yell over the sound of the storm. "She's still got a pulse, but it's barely there." said the gentle boy's voice, which was now semi-calm, "There's not much time! I'll have to…" His voice began to fade with each word until I could no longer hear him or the storm.


	2. Chapter 1: A Single Memory

Kingdom Hearts: The True Light

*Makodo (Mah-Cō-Dō)= Meaning will be explained later.

Ch. 1:

_**A Single Memory**_

Where am I?

I was laying on something soft and springy. A mattress? Something was pressing against my lips, forcing air into my lungs. Then it lifted off of my lips and something else pushed down on my chest three times, forcing the air back out. I heard noises that sounded like voices in the distance but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Again, something forced me to breathe.

Again.

Again.

Finally, salt water was pushed out of my lungs as I choked and coughed, my lungs burning. The voices stopped. A gentle one spoke, "You okay?" I tried to answer but my throat and mouth were too dry, all I could manage was a few painful raspy noises. "Kairi," the gentle voice said to someone else, "could you get some water?" I heard the steps as somebody left the room. "Can you sit up or at least open your eyes?" the voice asked me now. I nodded weakly and heard a sigh of relief in the background.

It was surprisingly hard but I managed to make my eyes flutter open.

It was too bright at first, my eyes wanted to close up again but I strained to keep them open. The first thing that came into focus was a boy. Well, man actually. He looked like he was in his early twenties. Though he was a man he was absolutely gorgeous. Snow white hair extended a little past his shoulders and his skin was pale. He wore a white, sleeveless shirt that zipped up. The bottom part of the zipper didn't go all the way down to the bottom of his shirt which revealed a little bit of his belly button. He wore a yellow and white zip-up vest over it. His blue jeans were loose, but not to loose and they had pockets that were a slightly lighter colored material than the rest of his jeans. When I saw his eyes I froze, shocked. They were a bright, beautiful aquamarine color.

One hand, which had a white glove that only went down to the knuckles, was lying on my forehead, _checking my temperature_, I guessed. I wanted to ask him where we were but, once again, all I could manage was the burning rasps. Until now he hadn't looked me in the eye because he was to preoccupied with making sure I was alright, but now he looked at my eyes with first shock then curiosity.

Suddenly a dog started barking and an earsplitting crash came from somewhere outside of the room, which, at the moment, I hadn't bothered to observe. "Oh, no!" cried the girl, "I'm so sorry, Riku!" The gentle man laughed, "It's fine, just don't get cut, and make sure *Makodo doesn't step on it!" "Okay!" the girl responded.

_So_, I thought to myself, _his name is Riku?_ "Sora?" Riku said as he turned around, "Will you watch her while I go help Kairi?" A younger looking boy walked up behind him, smiling, "Yeah, of course!" Riku got up and walked out as Sora sat down in his seat.

Sora had spiky brown hair that stuck out all over the place. His eyes were a vivid blue. He wore a black zip-up shirt with a black and white, short sleeved, zip-up jacket over it. In fact, everything he wore was zip-up. His hands were covered with black and white gloves that went a little past his knuckles. His shorts were baggy, black and white with yellow trimming here and there, and held up by a black leather belt. He wore a necklace with a crown pendant around his neck and a few chains hung from a couple of the belt loops on his pants.

"So…" he stopped, trying to think of something to say. I managed to laugh weakly, amused by the look on his face. He laughed just as the girl walked into the room. She held a glass of water in her hand. Sora laughed, "Took you long enough, Kairi!" I struggled to sit up as Kairi walked toward us, holding out the glass for me, "Well, it's not my fault Riku's new dog tackles me practically every time he sees me!"

Kairi was a little shorter than Sora, who was average height, with deep, nearly black red hair that went a little past her shoulders and was parted on the side. She wore a baby pink, leather dress that stopped half way down her thighs and she had a white spaghetti strap shirt under it.

I took the glass and I planned on drinking it slowly, not wanting to look like a pig or something, but as soon as I swallowed the first mouthful of water, I was too thirsty to pay any attention to what these kind strangers thought of me. The girl giggled and the boy just smiled and crossed his arms. Riku walked back into the room just as I finished drinking and he came and sat down in the seat next to the bed that the strangers had put me in.

"So," he asked, taking the empty glass from my hands, "think you can talk now?" I nodded and braced myself for the burning that would come from talking with a still semi-dry throat, "Thank you." Then, Riku smiled. The expression fit him perfectly because of the fact that the smile was so gentle. Also, because he was so beautiful. Suddenly and inexplicably my cheeks got hot and, though I wanted to, I couldn't look away from his face.

Suddenly, the perfect smile left his face and was replaced with worry, "Do you feel hot? Maybe you have a fever?" He turned his attention to Sora, "Could you go get me a thermometer?" Sora nodded, "Sure!" and he left the room, a dopy smile on his face. "No!" I said, a little too late, "Really! I'm fine!" But, he was already gone and Riku turned and picked up the empty glass, "I'll go get some water."

I took this chance to observe my surroundings. We were in a room that was actually quite small, but still big enough to hold a dresser, a vanity, a bookshelf, and a bed, with room to spare. The door was on the opposite side of the rectangular room and the vanity was against the left wall, the closet door to the right of it. The dresser was at the foot of the bed and a window was right in the middle of the wall that both the bed and the dresser were against. The book shelf was on the left wall and was completely over loaded with books that looked like they hadn't been read for a while.

The girl, who I guessed was named Kairi, was waiting patiently in the middle of the room. The carpet was a deep, rosy pink so it looked like a girl's room. "This is your room?" I guessed. "Yup!" she answered. Riku walked back in with Sora behind him. Riku handed me the glass, "You can drink this later, but…" He turned to Sora and Sora handed him the thermometer. For some inexplicable reason I began to panic, "No! I'm fine!" Riku began to look puzzled, "Your cheeks were red earlier, so…" his voice trailed off.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kairi roll her eyes, "Of course she blushed! What with the way you keep staring at her like that!" For a second Riku looked a little embarrassed that he was caught but he laughed it off. "So," He said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "why are your eyes like that?" I raised one eye brow, completely confused, "Like what?"

Kairi turned to her white metal vanity and picked up a white porcelain mirror, "This is what he means." I took the mirror and looked at my eyes. My mouth fell open when I found that one of my eyes was actually a different color than the other; one was pale silver while the other was pale gold. Kairi and Sora laughed but Riku simply sat patiently waiting for my answer to his question. When I was finally able to answer I could only manage to stutter, "I-I don't know."

I looked back in the mirror. My skin was somewhat tan and I had blonde, bobbed hair that hung just a little lower than my chin. Then, I looked down to observe what I was wearing. It was a simple, yet somehow elegant, white silk gown that had spaghetti straps that criss-crossed on my back. It looked like a night gown. "Oh!" Kiari suddenly gasped, "That black cloak thingy you were wearing over that is in the drying machine."

Cloak? Was I really wearing a cloak? The more I thought about it the more confused I became. Because the more I tried to think about it, I began to realize that I couldn't even remember what the cloak might have looked like. When I tried to think of other things I found that I couldn't remember anything else either. I could feel the panic rise in me and I was sure that the others could see it. That's when I began to really ask questions, "Where am I? How did I get here? Why can't I-" "Calm down." Riku demanded, gently laying his gloved hand on my shoulder, "One question at a time."

So, I started to sort out the billions of frantic questions in my head and started with the one that I thought was most important, "Why can't I remember anything?" I was so scarred, and you could easily hear that in my voice, but I didn't really care how I ended up in this place, I just wanted to know why I couldn't remember a single thing.

"Well," Sora said walking up next to where Riku was sitting, "Start with your name. Can you remember that?" I searched my mind but everything was blank. The fear and panic struck me again, this time it was like a wave, consuming everything. That's when two shiny objects that appeared to be giant keys, one black one that looked like the cross between a bat wing and a key and one silver and gold one that looked like a normal key, caught my eye. A sudden and inexplicable pain surged over me. Then, my body and my voice reacted, as if I no longer had control over them.

"No…" I said as my hands flew up to the sides of my head of their own accord. I pulled my legs up so that my knees were pressing against my chest and began yelling, "No, no, no!" I began to scream as a strange image entered my mind.

It was a nearly empty room. There was only a man with red hair, bright, vivid green eyes and distinct triangular marks just below each eye and a woman with jet black hair and black eyes. They were both wearing black cloaks but the man with the red hair was down on the ground, chains restraining his arms. I could feel chains restraining me as well. The more I saw the more I wanted to close my eyes as tight as I could but that didn't help. No … This isn't really happening. Is this … A memory?

I heard myself start screaming again, only louder and the sound was more distant than before. I could feel my body start lashing around. "I think she's going into shock!" Riku's voice sounded like he was far away. Soon, everything else started dropping off into the back ground and disappearing. All that was left was the memory that was playing through my mind. The black haired woman was torturing the red haired man with a whip that was covered in spikes.

Every time she struck the man it was like having my heart ripped in two. I could feel it, a strange connection between him and me. It was intense, and made me feel as if he was the most precious and most important thing in the world. _Love!_, my mind supplied the term for me. No … I didn't even know him … did I? It didn't matter. The feeling compelled me forward each time the man was struck, making me pull against the chains that held me.

Finally, the beating stopped. The black haired woman looked over her shoulder and smiled as she spoke, "If he won't tell me … perhaps you will." Her voice was hauntingly familiar. She began to walk toward me and I felt a scream rise in my throat but before it made it out the red haired man yelled a name and the memory disappeared. Was he yelling my name or the other woman's name?

Everything was black for a second but I felt my body loosen and my screams stopped. When I was able to tell what was actually happening I was completely surprised. Riku, Sora, and Kiari were restraining me. Was it really that bad?

"Well," Kiari asked as they all loosened their grip and relaxed, "what happened? Are you alright?" For a moment I couldn't speak, I could only look around and observe the expressions on their faces. They all looked concerned, which was actually no surprise. Here they were with this strange girl that had such an odd appearance and who couldn't remember anything and suddenly the girl goes into a panic, throwing her arms and legs all over the place and screaming loud enough to bust an ear drum. I'd be pretty worried, too.

They waited patiently while I gathered my thoughts. Well, actually Sora didn't look very patient. He looked like he was so curious that he could barely contain it. "I don't know … I think…" I paused, not really sure how to explain, "Did I just remembered something?" Suddenly, Riku's expression turned into a frown, "I guess it wasn't a very good memory." I shook my head and finally Sora gave up on holding back his curiosity, "What was it about?" "Sora!" Kiari scolded him, "If it was that bad she probably doesn't want to talk about it to a bunch of strangers!" "No," I said, feeling strangely numb, "It's okay."

So I explained it to them. When I finished, they were all staring in shock. The first one to speak was Riku, "That doesn't help … except for the name at the end." Sora shifted his weight to his other foot, crossing his arms, "All it does is bring up more questions." Kiari sat down next to Riku, "Is that the only name you can remember?" I nodded and saw Sora smile out of the corner of my eye, "Then that will just have to be your new name!" Kiari rolled her eyes and her and Riku smiled as they stood up in front of me. "Yeah!" Kiari agreed.

Then Riku offered me his hand, smiling his beautiful smile, "Welcome to Destiny Islands, Hikari."


	3. Chapter 2: Creatures

Ch. 2

_**Creatures**_

"Ah!" I whined, "It's so hot!" Kiari laughed, folding the clothes that she had hung out to dry, "This is the hottest day we've had on Destiny Island for a while." "Yeah," Sora yawned. He was lying in the sand a few feet away from us, being lazy as usual, "It doesn't help that we're in a little bit of a drought right now." Suddenly, Kiari threw a blanket over Sora, "We'd be able to get inside and out of this heat quicker if you would help us with this!"

The look on Sora's face made me laugh so hard that my sides actually started hurting. Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap around my neck and some one started rubbing their fist against the top of my head, "What about this one? Gonna let her slack off, too?" I broke free and spun around to see Riku standing behind me, "Riku!" This time, Sora and Kiari laughed as I tried to punch him in the stomach and he quickly caught my fist and pinned it behind my back, wrapping his free arm around my stomach as he spun me back around to face Sora and Kairi. Riku sighed, "It's no use … The more you struggle the tighter I'll squeeze." So I let my body go limp, "It's too hot for this anyways."

"Well," Kiari announced, wiping her forehead, "It's done, we can go back inside now." Sora jumped to his feet, "Good!" "It would have gone quicker, had you helped out." Riku laughed, shaking his head as he let go of me. I stood up, straightening out my shirt and fixing my hair, which I had cut extremely short just a few days after I had first woken up on the islands. We all got on the boats to take us back to our 'home base' as I call it. Because of the fact that there were only three boats Sora and Kiari shared a boat and Riku and I got our own. As we rowed back Sora and Kairi were ahead of me and Riku's boat was right next to me. Riku was starring at Sora and Kairi.

I frowned. For the last six months I'd been staying with Riku in his sea side mansion, which he hated. He said he would rather have a house next to a park. Even after that long, I still had the school girl crush on him that had formed about a week after I arrived at Destiny Islands. Each time he starred at Sora and Kairi the way he was know, like he wished he could be Sora, I could feel the jealousy creeping into me.

I sighed and closed my eyes; _I want to make him turn around look at __**me**__._ As if I could no longer control them, my hands began to row faster. But then, I felt something tugging at the back of my boat, so I opened my eyes and looked back to see what it was. Riku was holding on to the back of my boat and smiling at me teasingly, "If you keep going that fast you'll run into them." I looked at the front of my boat and saw that it was only inches away from Sora and Kiari's. My cheeks got hot and I turned to Riku again, "Thanks."

For a second his smile shrunk slightly as he looked over his shoulder, "We should probably get back to the house." I followed his eyes, looking back at the island, but I saw nothing and by the time I looked back at him he'd started rowing again and looking like he was absorbed in his thoughts. I sighed and decided not to say anything, I had enough to think about; how many of those things were going to show up tonight?

Later on that night, when Riku and I finished dinner, I sat in my room, listening to the soft sound of classical music that floated in from Riku's stereo in the next room. Suddenly, the music cut off and the dim light filtering under the door from the hallway turned off. I got up, knowing that Riku would fall asleep in a matter of seconds. I walked through the large, white hallway to Riku's room, which was at the far end. I tapped on the doorway with my knuckles, "Riku?" I could barely hear his groggy reply, "Hmm?" I opened the door a crack and peeked through, "May I come in?" I looked into his dark room and could barley make out where his bed was, just below the bay window at the back of the room. He was lying down underneath his thin, light blue sheets, "Of course."

I smiled, we had made somewhat of a routine out of this; after eating dinner he would listen to his classical music and I would either sit on my bed or next to him on his bed, listening to it with him, then he would go to sleep and I would just sit on the bay window. Every time I would sit there, I would start out staring out the window, and then, after he'd fall asleep, I would look at him as he slept peacefully. Of course, I didn't sit in his room for nothing. The first night, I did it because there was something wrong … something bad was going to happen, I knew it. And something bad did happen, though Riku never found out about it.

I sat at the bay window now, staring at Riku's silver hair, his silver lashes lightly touching his cheeks as he slept. My smile widened, "Goodnight, Riku." He sighed and switched from lying on his back to lying on his right side, facing me, though he didn't open his eyes, "Goodnight, Hika." My smile grew wider. He was the only one that new, but I was slightly uncomfortable with the name Hikari. I didn't really know why, but it didn't feel like it was _my_ name. When I told him that, he decided to call me Hika. Now, he's the only one that calls me that.

Makodo, Riku's gray, wolf-like dog, who was lying curled up next to me, suddenly started growling. I looked down at him, "I know boy, I know." I looked back out the window at he serine beach, which was died a hazy blue by the moonlight. As I watched silver and gold colored creatures made there way up the side of the mansion I thought about the meaning of Makodo's name; truth. Riku said that he'd named Makodo that because, for some reason, when he looked at the dog, he was reminded about the truth of his past … what he'd become _and_ what he did. Any time those creatures were nearby Makodo would growl, as if he knew that they were here to hurt someone.

I tensed as Makodo crawled quietly across Riku's bed, avoiding his legs. As I opened the window on the right and swung my legs out into the humid night air Makodo came back with Riku's sword in his mouth. I grabbed it from him, petting him on the head as he whined, "I have to do this, Riku and the others have dealt with enough stuff like this in the past."

Then, I turned and jumped out of the window, Riku's wing like sword slicing through one of the creatures in an instant. When I reached the sandy ground I immediately turned and launched the sword at the other one. After it sliced through the second creature, Makodo jumped out the window and caught the sword and landed next to me. He looked up at me and I took the sword from his mouth again. We turned around, facing the ocean, and saw even more of the strange creatures in many shapes and varieties but all the same silver and gold colors.

Moments later, after fighting the creatures off, I fell to one knee, supporting myself with the sword, panting. Makodo was next to me, whimpering. The creatures were far more numerous than before. This had been happening since two weeks after I had arrived at Destiny Islands, every night. _Please,_ _let me have the strength to fight them tomorrow night_, I thought, as if begging the heavens. "Let's go," I sighed, looking down at Makodo, "we need to make sure none of them got through."

We walked up to the entrance of the mansion, which had a white wooden stair case, leading to the white wooden porch with wood columns holding up the deck above. My room led out to that deck; Riku said that it was because he wanted me to wake up to the sunrise. I started walking into the mansion, but then there was a flash of bright light coming from somewhere around the islands.

A slight wind blew by as the burst of light began to disappear. Something about it made me uneasy. My gaze shifted down to Makodo as he growled quietly. I looked back at the mansion, _if that has anything to do with those creatures … they could be after him._ I grabbed Riku's sword, which I had plunged into the sand, and I ran to the canoe that he had tied to the deck that he built. Makodo jumped on the canoe ahead of me, and then I jumped in, untying the rope. Pushing off of the deck, I headed out to the island as I looked back at the house, praying that those _things_ wouldn't try to go after him again.

While I was still about ten feet away from the island's deck Makodo began to whimper, nuzzling his nose into my side, as if he feared for me. I patted his head, "I have to make sure the light wasn't from more of those creatures … You can go back if you want." He growled for a second before he jumped into the water and swam towards the island as if to say, _no way!_ I laughed, a sort of edgy laugh, as I arrived at the island. Makodo was waiting for me, suddenly appearing excited.

I got out of the canoe, tying it to the deck before turning to Makodo, "What's got you so excited?" I knelt down slightly to pet him, but I kept my, er, Riku's sword brandished. Mokodo may not react this way around those things, but there was still something out there … something that caused that light. The next time I looked up, I saw a small, cloaked figure. It's head was oddly shaped; like one big circle and two smaller ones. The figure was staring at me, the light of the moon reflecting off of its big eyes.

Standing up, I quickly readied Riku's sword, in case I would have to defend myself from the strange figure, "Who…" My words trailed off as the figure held up it's finger, asking me to be silent. I knew that I probably should have been quiet, but what if he was there to hurt some one? I took a step closer to the figure trying to make myself appear dangerous, but it jumped back, as if surprised at my reaction.

Suddenly, Makodo started barking toward the home base. I turned to look at what he was barking at, noticing a small light on coming from my room's deck. For a split second I let my guard down, smiling. I heard a footstep behind me and turned back to the figure preparing myself for his attack … but he was gone. I looked down at Makodo, and he simply whimpered, looking a little sad. I sighed, "If he's worried enough to use that thing, I guess we better go." I got back in the canoe, smiling as I stared at Riku's light.

It was a little inside joke that I had started. Well, less of a joke and more of a way for him to console me … at least, that's how I saw it.

9


	4. Chapter 3: A Light in the Dark

**Ch. 3**

_**A Light in the Dark**_

It was about six months after I washed up on Destiny Island's beach and I had been staying in the small seaside shack up until then, though the others had no idea. It's not that I'd been hiding it from any of them; it's just that it had never come up. I had to admit … it was a little lonely, but I could deal. Still, that didn't stop Kairi from figuring it out. She had been curious about were I was staying, mainly because she wanted some serious one on one girl time. Plus, she had an 'ingenious' plan to throw a little 7 minutes in heaven party, trying to get me closer to Riku.

"It'd be so fun!" she said, throwing up her arms. I shook my head, "It'd be best if you didn't." She rolled her eyes, "Why?" I sighed. She was surprisingly stubborn. The sky was growing dark as Riku and Sora untied the canoes from the deck, getting ready to head back to home base. Kairi turned when Sora called for her. I took my chance and turned to walk down the beach. I had done it before. They would leave and I'd simply tell them that I wanted to take one last walk on the beach before heading home. This time was no different … that was what I thought anyways.

I opened the door to the sea side shack. My little shack was no more than sand and wooden walls, with a wood stair case at the back. I looked at the cot that I had placed to the right side of the shack. A couple days after my arrival at the islands I had managed to get Kairi to lend me her canoe for a day while she was at the beach. That day I had gotten the cot that was now sitting in the corner of the seaside shack, which, luckily, people never really used anymore. I layed down on the cot, letting the soreness from my practice match with Sora release from my muscles. My eyes wandered over my makeshift home. It was barely lit by the pale light of the moon shining in through the spaces between the wooden planks of the wall. Then, feeling strangely content, I closed my eyes, letting myself drift of slightly. That's when I heard Riku's voice, "What are you doing?"

I opened my eyes and sat up as quickly as possible. Riku, Sora, and Kairi were standing at the door of the seaside shack, staring at me as if I were something foreign. I cocked my head, "What is it?" Riku looked like he was going to say something as he took a small step forward but Kairi started ranting before he could get a single word in, "What are you doing? You haven't been sleeping out here have you?" I nodded, "Yeah … so?" She rolled her eyes and Sora stepped up, "So?! You've been sleeping out here, with no heating and you just say 'so'?"

I nervously glanced at Riku who had a strange look on his face; one that didn't match the appalled look on Sora and Kairi's faces, one that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Kairi suddenly stepped in front of me, blocking Riku from view, "Well, this is the end of that. You started a new life here, and now we are making you start all over again." I quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" Sora peeked at me over her shoulder, "You're staying with Riku!"

I heard a surprised gasp come from behind them and Sora simply looked back at Riku, "She can't stay with me; there's barely enough room for Kairi and me in my apartment." I looked down, staring at a small paupu fruit that I had drawn on the cot's white sheet, shocked by the idea of sharing a house with Riku. I heard soft footsteps coming toward me as I spoke, "It's okay, I'm perfectly fine with staying out here." A small sigh made my eyes shoot up. Riku was looking down at me with that same expression on his face, "No … I have an extra room at my house … you can stay there."

I remember staring into his eyes and feeling as if I had been hypnotized. I just nodded. That was the first night I had spent with him. We sat in his guest bedroom, which he now said was mine, and we simply talked. He asked me what it was like to try to look back at old memories and have nothing to remember. I told him that it was like gazing into a dark ocean and trying to find fish; everything was black and I knew that the memories were there, I just couldn't see them.

He asked if I actually wanted to take one last walk on the beach every night or if I was just trying to hide the fact that I had been staying in the sea side shack. "I wasn't trying to hide anything." I replied, smiling, "My first night on the islands I wanted to take a little walk before I headed back to home base, but then it got too dark, and I got lost. I eventually found my way to the shack and just fell asleep there. Afterwards, I just decided to stay there."

He suddenly looked like he had a great idea … I swear I could see the light go on just above his head. He stood and walked over to the closet. When he opened it I was able to peek around him. The closet was pretty much empty, save for a couple hangers on the small rail that went across the top of the closet. He leaned down to retrieve a big, spotlight-sized flashlight. He turned to me, "If you want to walk on the beach again, I'll light this flashlight from that deck," he paused to point at the deck for a second, which was across the room from the bed, "to make sure you don't get lost … you can just follow it." I smiled at him. He did so much to help his friends.

I couldn't stop my grin from growing as a thought crossed my mind, "Only if you promise to help me light my way through my dark memories." At that moment, I also promised myself that I would be his light … after all, he had such a dark, painful past. Thinking about it now, I admit that it's a little cheesy, but I honestly wanted him to be the one to help me get my memories back. He looked surprised for a moment, but that faint Riku smile made its way back across his face and he nodded.

"Hika!" Riku's voice broke through my thoughts, interrupting the memory of my first night at his house and I looked up to my deck, waving at him when I saw him. I docked the boat, letting Makodo jump out ahead of me. He ran to the white door and scratched it, pretty much begging to get in. I walked into the house before I even realized it.

I still had Riku's blade in my hand. I turned to Makodo and held it out to him. Normally, he would have taken it. This time, he simply sat there. I heard Riku call down the stairs as he headed to the living room where I stood, "Hika! Is it cold out there?" I went into a small panic as Makodo suddenly started barking excitedly, running up the stairs. Crap. What was I going to do? He was about to come down stairs and see me with _his_ sword, completely tired, and a little beat up. Only now did that last bit cross my mind, and now that it did, the sting of all the tiny scratches set in.

I winced, and just at that moment Riku appeared at the bottom of the stair case, wearing his light blue and white PJ's and looking totally shocked. He rushed to me, the expression on his face just about as panicked as I felt, "What happened?" I shook my head, trying to clear it, "Well … I jus-" "Is that my keyblade?" he interrupted, "What are you … hold on …" he paused, appearing as though something in his head were clicking into place, "you … you weren't fighting those things, were you?" "Well, I … wait you know they're here." He hesitated, appearing as though he were at a loss for words, "I …"

Riku didn't finish. He just sort of … stood there, his face worried and confused as Makodo brushed his head against Riku's hand. I myself didn't know what to say. I mean, how was I supposed to explain this to him? And, what's more, he already knew about the creatures. I had so many questions. How did he know? Had he fought them before? What are they? Before I knew it, I was completely zoned out as I tried, and failed, to organize my thoughts.

The only thing that brought me back to earth was something brushing lightly against one of the bruises left over from the fight. I flinched, and looked down at it only to see Riku's hand pulling away slightly. I looked back up at him. His expression was the same as the one he wore the night he'd found out that I had been staying the sea side shack. I don't know why, but something in my chest twisted. Guilt. Crap. "Look," I sighed, "I knew they were coming after you so I just …" My voice trailed off when I saw the look of confusion spread across his face, "But, they were after you." I rolled eyes, "Then why would they try to get into your room?" His eyes widened, "Wait … what?" "Why do you think I've been fighting them off?"

"Well, I …" he stopped, stepping closer to me, "… you _have_ been fighting them? For me?" Only now did I realize exactly how close he was getting. I don't think he was doing it intentionally, in fact, I don't think he even realized he was doing it. But now I was cornered, my back against the wall. I didn't really know how to tell him, but it's not like I was uncomfortable, I just wasn't used to it. My face heated as I blushed uncontrollably. Now, it looked like he was noticing as well. He retreated, looking nervous and slightly embarrassed as his porcelain cheeks dusted over with light pink, "I … I'm sorry. I didn't mean to …" Again, his voice trailed off as he his eyes shifted to the ground.

I shook my head, _don't read too much into it, you idiot. He wants Kairi, not you! Focus on the matter at hand._ I looked back at him, leaning over to force him to look me in the eye, "Well, there's no reason to dwell on who they're after. The fact that they are here and we don't know what they are should be what we focus on." He glanced up at me, dazed for a second, then nodded. Makodo whimpered as he walked over to me, his claws clicking on the black and white linoleum floor. I smiled, bending over to kiss him on the top of the head as I handed him Riku's blade, "Good boy." When I looked back at Riku he looked stunned for a second before slightly shaking his head, "I don't know anything about them but …" For some reason my heart sped up, I ignored it, urging him to finish his sentence, "But?"

"They …" he paused, as if trying to organize his thoughts, "… they weren't here before … they only showed up when you arrived on the islands." I froze. Everything froze. My heart gave a painful tug and I looked at the ground, tears stinging my eyes. What? So what if they only showed up after I did? I shouldn't react like this … I should feel guilt for possibly bring them here, or at least shock. So then, why … why did I feel so … so sad? My chest gave another painful twist and I turned away from Riku, hiding my face as the tears overflowed and my throat began feeling like it was being blocked up.

I only barely heard Makodo's claws on the floor as he returned from putting away Riku's sword. Just like I barely heard him when he whimpered and began howling sorrowfully. I placed my forearm against the wall and layed my head on it, hiding my eyes from Riku. "What?" he whispered, the shock completely audible in his voice, "Why are you … look, even if you … it's not." He sounded like he was having trouble talking, like he had no idea what to say. Suddenly, it was like I couldn't control myself.

I broke down as a million foreign thoughts flashed threw my head. I immediately knew what they were from; my old life … my forgotten life. Falling to my knees I began to cry out and beg, shouting all of the thought in my mind as I prayed that it would some how help to clear my head of the unfamiliar thoughts, "Why?! Why did they come hear? Don't they know that this could … no!" I stopped only for a moment, cringing from the massive pain in my chest. I sobbed loudly, not even noticing that Riku was awkwardly trying to calm me down, though he was at a loss for words. Again that forgotten part of me took over, "I can't protect them this time! They have to … they can't …"

My heart gave another little twist, causing me to cry out again, "NO!" My body was shaking and my eyes were swollen from the tears. I don't know why, but the creatures that I had spent so much time trying to kill suddenly seemed so fragile. I felt akin to them, as if my heart were aching for them. Only now did I realize that I was sitting in the fetal position, gently rocking back and forth, like a scared child. But that was all I noticed. Now my entire body ached … no … not my body. But then, what did I feel writhing in pain inside of me? That foreign part of my brain supplied the answer just before disappearing underneath the dark water again, _your soul._

I suddenly snapped out of it, only to see Riku's panicked face as he shook me gently by the shoulders, "Hika!" I stared, searching through my mind for those unfamiliar thoughts. They weren't there anymore. Now, after my old life was brought so close, only to be pulled away again, the misery of being the girl with no past really set in. For the first time since I had arrived on the islands … I cried.

I cried as I clung to Riku, burring my face in his chest and clutching his shirt in my hands. My heart was still cringing from the remnants of the pain that had raged inside of me just moments ago.

I cried for the past I had lost, for the woman that died the moment I washed onto the shores of Destiny Islands. Riku's strong arms wrap around me, but he still stayed silent, probably surprised by my outburst.

I cried shamelessly … like a child. I sobbed and shook as the desperate tears streamed down my face. "Who … who am I?" I begged, not really expecting an answer. Riku stirred slightly, "Dale." I looked up at him, still not able to stop the tears even though the pain had been replaced by complete confusion, "Wait … what?" He was looking over his shoulder so I followed his gaze, peeking past him.

The kitchen window was open. Standing on the counter just bellow it was a small, furry chipmunk with a red nose.

I screamed.


	5. Chapter 4: Mickey

**Ch. 4**

_**Mickey**_

"Ri-Riku!" I screamed, jumping to my feet and pointing at the red-nosed chipmunk, "There's a rodent in your house!" Riku got to his feet looking at me with one eyebrow raised. The … thing … jumped off the counter and onto the floor. My heart raced as I backed into the wall, trying to get as far from the little … flee ridden monster. It crossed its arms, "Chipmunk! Not a rodent!"

Wait … HOLY CRAP! I could feel my eyes widen as I shouted, "It talks! It friggin' talks! Riku! You have a talking rodent in your kitchen!" I kept my eyes on the beast, scared out of my mind that the thing would start trying to crawl up my leg. Then I heard Riku laugh softly, "He's the king's engineer … his name is Dale." With that, I could feel my muscles loosen, but only slightly, "What … do you mean the king you traveled with?" He nodded, "Yeah, but," he turned to the ro – er – Dale, "what are you doing here?" My gaze shifted nervously to the chipmunk, who simply smiled at Riku, "King Mickey was checking on things here and said that he saw a strange girl with the same keyblade as you, so he sent me out here to get ya!"

Riku's eyes shifted to me, though he didn't look angry … he actually looked a little amused. "Strange, huh?" he muttered teasingly as he smiled. I completely forgot about the little pest and beamed slightly at Riku, "She couldn't have been that strange." He raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" I giggled, my grin widening, "Of course not! In fact, she might even be pretty." Only now did I notice Dale jumping up and down, trying to get our attention. I looked down at him, only to have my attention turned back to Riku for a second before he too turned to the chipmunk. He'd mumbled something but I … I'm sure I misheard him.

He knelt down, letting the rat, er, Dale climb onto his hand, "What is it?" The chipmunk panicked, "Outside, look outside!" I was so stupid that, even as he went to the window, I stood there, still trying to sort out what he actually said and not really willing to accept what I thought he said. He turned back toward me, "There back!" For a second, I was confused but once my mind caught on I ran to the window. My body froze. Good god …

"Why?" I turned to Dale, who Riku had now put on the counter below the window, "Why are there so many?" He shrugged, "That's what King Mickey wants to know." Still, I stared, "There everywhere." The creatures covered the shores and the cliff that Riku's house sat on; some of them were even in the water. I heard the door open and turned to see Riku walking out with his keyblade, "I won't let them get in here … Dale, take her to the king, then send some sort of signal to let me know when you get there. I'll make my way to the location when I see the signal." I looked back down at Dale as he saluted, "You got it!"

Before I knew it, Riku was out the door and Dale was scampering around, looking for something for me to use as self defense. I, however, could not focus. I had to have heard Riku wrong … right? I barely paid any attention to Dale when he scuttled over to me, "Found something!" He held up a gun holster with a pistol stored in it and a small case for bullets attached. Not even thinking, I grabbed the gun. I walked out with Makodo next to me and Dale on my shoulder, though I could barely stand it. My heart skipped a beat and my cheeks heated as I replayed what I thought Riku might have said over and over again, still refusing to believe it;

"She _is_ pretty."

…

Now I stood on the deck, shooting the creatures as they came, Dale untying the boat behind me. I don't really know how I could shoot. I just sort of … let the foreign side of my mind take over. I flinched at the first three shots, the surprisingly powerful kick of the gun catching me off guard. Not a single bullet strayed, and when the creatures got too close, I hit them with the butt of the gun, knocking them back before I shot them. Makodo got the ones I didn't, pouncing on their throats and crushing their skulls with his teeth. Finally, the boat was untied and I jumped in, Makodo close behind and Dale riding on him.

Just because we were on the boat did not mean we got to rest. Now, there were new creatures. They looked similar to giant snakes, only with rows of teeth like a shark and fins resembling some sort of mythical sea creature. I took aim and fired multiple rounds at one creature. It disappeared in a small burst of light, just like the others. But, there was more than one, and it was foolish of me to let my guard down.

A searing pain ran up my leg to my knee … I screamed, collapsing. I twisted my torso around to be able to reach the creature. Its jaws were big enough to cover my entire calf. I only barely noticed that the liquid coming from the wound was not red, but clear. I aimed my pistol, but I was out of rounds, so then I turned it around, using the butt of the gun to hit the creature. It thrashed, sending pain throughout my body, like fire. Again I cried out. Makodo lunged for the creature, but he was kept away by the creature's tail, which whipped out from underneath the ocean's surface.

I noticed a flash of something metallic, and looked forward to see a silver keyblade hurtling toward me. I weakly reached up my hand, dropping my gun, and caught it, slamming it onto the creature's neck. Its monstrous mouth parted to let out a heartbreaking screech. It fell back into the water.

I couldn't stand on my injured leg, but Makodo helped support me as I got up and looked forward again. Sora and Kairi were in their canoe a few meters away. I smiled, ignoring the pain in my leg, "Sora! Kairi!" They waved back and beckoned for me to come to them. I sat down, Dale scampering from his hiding place beneath the seat to examine my wound and Makodo sitting next to me, whimpering. Still, I couldn't even focus on the tiny pest; something was wrong. The liquid that I though was clear actually shined, like the light that flashed when one of the creatures was defeated. I shook my head, _we don't have time for this!_

When I got to them Kairi wrapped her arms around me, "We were so worried! What are these things? Why are they here?" She was shooting off questions faster than I could shoot my gun. Sora was the one to look down at my leg, which by now had actually gone numb … crap … not a good sign. He knelt down, evidently not noticing Dale, seeing as how he narrowly missed stepping on him, "Your leg!" I looked at the horizon, checking the time. No! Ignoring his panicked expression, I turned back toward him, "No time! We need to find the king!" He looked shocked, "The king?" Kairi's head tilted, "Why's he here?"

Dale jumped onto my lap, "Like she said, no time! We need to get to the island with the paopu tree on it!" I glared at the little rat and tried to lean away … eww! Sora nodded, his expression becoming determined, "Right!" He quickly tied our boats together and he and Kairi rowed the boat to the islands. I reached down to retrieve my gun. The leather strap that I had used to fasten my holster to my thigh was uncomfortable now, so I readjusted it. I dug into the bullet case, reloading the gun as fast as possible. There was some splashing behind me, so I quickly whipped my black pistol in the direction of the noise … I saw nothing, but still kept alert all the way to the islands.

We finally arrived and Kairi tied the boat to the deck as Sora and I stood ready for the creatures to attack again while Makodo helped support me. Now Dale was on Kairi's shoulder, whispering to her about what she would need to do to take care of my leg when we got to the ship. They finished and we set out again, Dale leading the way, though I don't know why we were fallowing a red-nosed rodent. Sora was talking to Dale as if he'd known him for years … Dale must have been the one that took care of Sora's ship while he was traveling.

Makodo had run out in front of us, leaving Kairi to support me by putting my arm over her shoulder and her arm around my waist. I have to admit, I didn't like it very much … not to say I didn't like her; in fact, we were best friends. It's just that, well, I was jealous. As I'd said before, Riku would always look at her as though he wanted to be by her side instead of mine.

The whole time I was sorting this out in my head as we made our way to the ship, Kairi had been talking. "Sora leaves everything everywhere … it's a wonder the apartment manager doesn't evict us," she ranted, "I mean, really why aren't guys as organized as girls?" I giggled, letting my jealousy sink beneath the surface, hiding it, "It's the opposite at Riku's house…" She stared at me for a second, looking a little shocked. I laughed again, "No, no! I'm not as bad as Sora, but I do forget things sometimes." She nodded, "Oh, I see … what does Riku do when you forget?" I thought for a second before I smiled, looking up at her as I answered, "He usually takes care of it for me … but he always talks to me about it later. He's always so sweet though, he never really gets mad."

She hmed in reply as she looked forward, shaking her head. I couldn't stop myself from gasping a little. Crap. "N-no!" I shook my head, "It's not what you think … I'm trying to get better, I really am! It's just … I guess I don't have the best memory in the world." Kairi just shrugged, "That's not why I was shaking my head." My brow furrowed and my mind drew a bit of a blank, "Then why did you …" She looked forward, as if avoiding my gaze, "You're lucky … to be able to live in Riku's house." A bitter wave of jealousy struck me, and I looked away, "Kairi … do you-"

Suddenly, there was an explosion of light coming from somewhere near the island's deck. Kairi and I looked over our shoulders and the others turned to see what it was. Riku was running toward us, trailed by the creatures. This time the creatures looked like the cheetah's that I used to see on Animal Planet. But, my attention didn't stay on them for long. As Sora and Makodo ran toward the creatures, I focused solely on Riku. He was injured as well; his arms were coved in cuts and scrapes that oozed the same shining liquid, and he limped as he ran. Kairi put me down, "Wait here!"

Riku looked a little frustrated as Kairi ran up to him. She tried to stop him, to take care of his wounds, but he kept running. Kairi stood there only for a second before running to Sora to help hold back the creatures. I looked back up at Riku, who was now crouched beside me, more worried than frustrated. He looked at my leg for a second, before looking away, his face washing over with pain. He looked back up at my face, his gaze catching mine, "Wha-" a loud growl interrupted him and he looked over his shoulder. I looked past him, only to see a fourth creature that had made it past Sora, Kairi, and Makodo, who had their hands full with just three of them.

Riku started to get up to fight the creature off, but, for some reason, I panicked. I realized that Riku was too close for me to fire my pistol, so I pushed him to the side, shouting, "Cover your ears!" As soon as he did so, I grabbed my pistol and fired off three rapid shots, hitting the creature twice in the chest and once in the head. The strangely powerful kick of the gun reverberated down to my injured leg. I flinched and looked down at it. What ever it was that had been coming out of my wound was coming out faster now. Riku stood up, looking shocked, "Where did you …"

Again, he was interrupted, this time by the same small hooded figure I had seen earlier that night. It tugged on Riku's pants, "No time for that now." Riku looked down, "King?" The figure nodded before walking a little ways past us, "Sora! Kairi! We have to go!" They immediately turned and ran toward us. "You ready?" I heard Riku ask, and before I was even able to look up at him, he picked me up bridal style. He turned and started following the others, who were all trailing behind the king.

We took refuge in the seaside shack. As soon as we got in the door Riku put me down on my cot. Was that thing really still there? Now that I looked around the place was perfectly kept … not a single plank of wood out of place … the cot didn't even have dust on it! Who on earth would come down here and keep the place clean like this?

When I looked back up everyone was staring at me and Riku, who I only now noticed was sitting next to me. The king was the only one that didn't look surprised, instead he just sort of … giggled. Riku and I looked at each other for a second. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to my wounded leg … his eyebrow raised.

I looked down … holy crap … my leg was shining. Or, rather, the liquid coming from my wounded leg was shining more than it had been before. Riku's hand reached out and lightly touched it … it stung a bit, but I was able to ignore it. I only barely noticed Kairi as she walked over to us and sat on my other side. My gaze shifted up to Riku, trailing along the lightly toned muscles of his arm. I froze … the liquid coming from him was shining brighter as well.

"What is it?" Sora asked, snapping both Riku and I out of our little daze. We stared down at the king as he tapped his foot … My guess is that he was trying to figure out where exactly to start.

Then he turned his attention back to us, "It's called Soul Reflection."


	6. Chapter 5: Soul Reflection

**Ch. 5**

_**Soul Reflection**_

"Soul Reflection?" Sora repeated. The king nodded, "Yes, it's caused by the Soul Eaters." Soul Eaters. The name struck me … it sounded so familiar, but … "Those creatures, the Soul Eaters, why are they here? Why don't they leave?" I must have had the same expression that I'd had the first time that that forgotten side of my mind surfaced because when I glanced over at Riku his brow was furrowed with worry. Still, he didn't say anything.

"Well," the king replied, forcing my attention back to him, "they are here because they're searching for something … what for, I'm not quite sure, but they seem to be drawn to the keyblades…" he paused, focusing specifically on Riku, as if trying to tell him something. Sora stepped forward, interrupting him, "But, none of them have been targeting me." The king stood silently for a moment and I began to wish that I could see his face, but his cloak shadowed him from view. He finally shrugged, "There's not much known about them at the moment, but they have appeared at the castle as well, so I assumed they were there for the keyblade."

Riku stood, looking surprised and slightly panicked, "The castle? Are the others alright?" The king nodded, "Yes, for some reason the Soul Eaters aren't making a move. They used to wander around, but for the past year they've been gathering in the Hall of the Cornerstone. Other than that, they haven't done anything." Something in my mind clicked into place, something I dared not say out loud; it was about a year ago that I had arrived on the islands.

"DALE!" a small voice came from just up the stairs that led to the bridge to the Paupu island. The chipmunk jumped off of Kairi's shoulder and ran toward the staircase. That's when another one appeared. I jumped, automatically grabbing onto Riku's arm, my heart skipping a beat, "There's two of them!?" The beasts looked at me for a second, but the one that had just come down the stairs turned back to Dale and mumbled something into his ear. Riku leaned over and whispered to me, "That's the other engineer, Chip." _Yeah_, I thought, _that doesn't change that fact that he's a talking rodent. At least he doesn't have a red nose._ My gaze shifted nervously to Dale.

His face became panicked and he rushed over to the king, jumping onto his shoulder and relaying his message. The king nodded, turning to Riku, "We need to get to the ship … there's been an emergency transmission from the Radiant Gardens." It went quiet for a moment, and only now did I notice that everyone was looking at me. I looked back down at my leg, which was still covered in Soul Reflection. Whatever Soul Reflection actually was, I was feeling the effect of losing so much of it. I felt woozy and my leg started going numb again. I knew that, no mattered how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to stand on my own.

I suddenly felt useless as I glanced back up at Riku, "I'm sor-" He shook his head, interrupting me, "No … don't be." he looked up at the king, "You guys go on ahead, I'll carry her." My face suddenly heated, "NO!" Everyone looked at me again. I sputtered, surprised at my own outburst, and looked at Riku again, flinching when I saw his hurt expression. I panicked, tightening my grip on his arm, "No, wait, that's not what I …" He recoiled for a second, glancing down at my hands. Only now did I realize that one of my hands was on one of the many cuts on his arm. I drew back my hands immediately and tried to think of something to say.

"That's alright!" Sora walked over to us, "I'll carry her! You're hurt too, you know!" Riku's gaze shifted to Sora and he nodded, avoiding my eyes. I felt a jab of guilt in my chest, _why did I open my big mouth?_ The king and his rodents walked up the stairs, hesitating for a moment to wait for Riku and Kairi. I watched them leave, _at least they'll get some time alone._ I knew that I should have felt happy, but I was so selfish that jealousy managed to creep its way into me.

"Alright," Sora knelt down in front of me, facing away. I quirked my eyebrows at him, "Piggy-back? Really?" He laughed and nodded, "Yeah, it's the most convenient way to carry you." It made sense, so I forced my legs to move, "Get closer to the bed; I can't reach you over there." He did as I told, "That better?" I nodded and adjusted myself again so that my legs were on either side of his torso, then I wrapped my arms around his neck. He placed his hands under my thighs and stood, carrying me to the stairs. The silence was a little awkward, but I must have been the only one to notice because Sora just kept looking forward and smiling.

How odd. I shook my head, "How can you be so happy in a situation like this?" He shrugged, "Well, for one thing, I don't exactly get what's going on right now," -I rolled my eyes, _ignorance truly is bliss_- "and besides, how can I not be happy? At least all my friends are safe!" I giggled, trying to blink away a wave of dizziness that suddenly swept over me. But, that he did notice, his expression becoming panicked, "Wait, I wasn't thinking! That's not to say you're not my friend!" I shook my head, cringing at how loud his voice seemed, "No, I understand … you mean, at least all your friends are alive." He nodded, "Yeah … sorry I didn't get to you sooner." I giggled, feeling oddly weak, "Don't worry, you're fine."

When we reached the top of the stairs and walked outside, the sun had already risen above the ocean, tinting the islands with shades of red, yellow, and orange. The others were standing on the bridge, staring toward the beach. "What's wrong with them?" I wondered aloud as we approached. Sora came to a stop between Riku and Kairi. By now, I was feeling a little more than woozy, so I put my forehead on Sora's shoulder and closed my eyes. Suddenly, his shoulders stiffened and he gasped slightly. I lifted my head, having a surprisingly hard time doing even that. I couldn't keep myself from staring at the scene unfolding on the beach … not out of surprise, but out of wonder.

Down on the beach, thousands of Soul Eaters were gathered; the ones that were bound by land were simply standing and swaying back and forth on the sand, while the ones that were bound by the sea peeked above its surface. Something in me started to feel weighed down by a huge sadness.

That's when the ship appeared just above the Paupu island. It was orange and yellow with white wings. The ship looked a little odd, but Riku trusted the king enough to get on this ship without a second thought, so who was I to question it? The noise of the rockets was loud, but not quite deafening. I glanced at the others, taking in each of their expressions, before my gaze came to rest upon the king. He looked back at me for a second, making me wish once again that I could see his expression, then he turned toward the ship. Everyone else headed that way too, and Sora carried me close behind them.

But then, a strange sound rose from the creatures. The sound was like a soft screech, and was so bitter sweet that it knocked the wind out of me. It was as if the Soul Eaters were crying. A lump rose in my throat, and my already swollen, stinging eyes let out new tears. The depression that I felt deep in my chest became worse, as if each of the Soul Eaters cries were piercing me to the very core. My hands gripped at Sora's black jacket and I buried my face in his shoulder. He stopped and I could feel him twist around slightly to look back at me, "Hey, what is it?" I shook my head; it was ridiculous, why was I crying for them? I only barely heard soft footsteps approach us over the sound of the Soul Eaters's cries, which seemed to only get louder. I closed my eyes, wishing it all away, though I knew it was in vain.

Muffled voices were talking … Riku and Sora. I didn't listen. Sora handed me off to Riku. I didn't care. By now I was simply too weak. The Soul Reflection that was still escaping out of my wounds was draining my energy and the heavy sadness in my chest was wearing away at me, as well. At this point I was completely numb, save for the coldness that was now spreading through my leg. I heard Riku speak to me, though it was too faint to make out. "What?" I was puzzled by how far away my own voice sounded. He spoke louder, "Why are you crying?"

Just like before, the other part of me spoke up, "Can't you hear them? They're so loud … please, I don't want them to cry … not for me."

"Who? Who else is crying?"

"The Soul Eaters."

Some time passed before their screams faded, their absence weighing almost as heavily on me as the screams themselves. Finally, all I could hear was a soft beeping noise; a heart monitor? Riku spoke, his voice suspiciously thick, "You're so pale…"

Am I?

"Your eyes are so dark now…"

My eyes are open? But everything's so black.

"Hold on … just hold on!"

Why? Is there a reason to when I know I can't have you?

"Hika … please."

Why do you sound so sad when you still have **her**?

The beeping slowed … I barely heard Riku as he shouted, his voice shaking, "Hika!"

… Then, the beeping stopped.

I felt lost … I thought I was dead … I probably should have been. But, a strange warmth spread through me, and I slowly became aware of a strange sensation in my left arm. A dull ache came from my leg and I couldn't stop myself from moaning. "Hika?" Riku's groggy voice came from somewhere beside me. I tried to find the muscles that would open my eyes, but I still felt lost. I felt a slight, warm pressure on my eyes, one at a time. _There they are …_

When my eyes opened, I wanted to shut them immediately; it was just so bright. But, I forced them open. Riku was leaning over me, looking worried. I found my voice, "Riku …" His eyelids were strangely red and his eyes suspiciously shiny. He stood and turned away for a second clearing his throat. I strained to sit up and when he turned back toward me he helped me, "Are … are you okay?" I nodded, slowly becoming more aware. He sat down on a wooden chair next to the bed that I was laying on. I looked down at the white sheets and began to twist them with my thumb and forefinger.

Only when I was fully awake did I notice the IV going in my wrist. The tube coming from it was filled with Soul Reflection. My gaze followed the tube and I saw that it came to a pump, which was connected to another tube. Again, I looked to see where that tube led.

It was connected to an IV in Riku's arm. My eyes shot up to his, but he simply smiled gently, "They said it would help … it's only until you stabilize." Riku looked a little worried when I began to move my legs off the bed, but still, I had to get a better look at him, to make sure he was okay. He started to get up, but stopped when he realized that I was simply trying to sit on the edge of the bed. At the time I didn't realize exactly how close the chair he sat in was, but it was close enough that my shins were on either side of his knees.

I remembered the times before when he'd seemed almost entranced by my eyes, so I stared directly into his, trying not to be spellbound myself. It worked. I distracted him by asking, "What is this Radiant Garden place like?" He smiled, "It's very beautiful. It has buildings built from bricks, a castle…" As he described it I allowed my eyes to wander, trying to see if he was alright … he sure didn't look like it. Just beneath his eyes was a little darker than normal and he was paler than usual. Was this what I looked like when I was losing my Soul Reflection?

But, I couldn't manage to focus on that for too long … mainly because of how happy he sounded as he described the Radiant Gardens. He wasn't jumping out of his seat by any means, and his voice wasn't loud the way Sora's was when he was happy. It was just his tone, his smile, and even the look in his eyes. He described his memories of that world, all the while having that gentle, happy expression on his face. But still, I couldn't get the thought of how painful it must have been to have to remember all these wonderful things, and yet know that he was under Xehenort's control when it was happening.

I smiled when he finished, by now completely engrossed in his story, "Why is it separated from your world?" He shrugged slightly, "The king says that the worlds are disconnected because the true light that used to join them has been lost." A small thought crossed my mind, one that, at the time, seemed to be off little consequence, _I wish I could find that light for him … he wouldn't be blocked off from the rest of the worlds then._

Only now did I notice that, being absorbed in the conversation, he'd absent mindedly started caressing my knee with the back of his finger tips. As soon as I saw it I couldn't keep my mind off of it. Had something changed? I wanted to test it. So, I touched my shins to his knees, but he didn't seem to notice much. I went further, leaning forward and resting my elbow on the knee he wasn't touching while placing my chin on my palm, putting my face closer to his.

Now he noticed. I could feel a small tension between us … no, not small … and not tension, but something else, something that made my heart speed up. Something **had **changed; I'd seen his worried expression when I was hurt, heard his desperation when I was dying. Now, he looked surprised, as though he had no idea what to do. I placed my hand on his, the one under my chin moving down to the hand he'd left on the arm of his chair. His surprise was replaced with a slight nervousness, his cheeks dusting over with pink and his face somehow still appearing as gentle as ever. I inched closer, biting my lower lip to keep down the uncertainty that twisted in the pit of my stomach. I realized that he was inching closer as well, moving forward in his seat to do so. My face heated and my pulse raced … we were so close … just a little further and … but, our lips never connected, because …

"IT'S TERRIBLE!!!!!" I jumped, quickly turning away from him to hide my blush and lightly hitting my fist on the bed next to me, _ugh, Sora!_ Riku stood quickly and turned away as well. Still, Sora didn't seem to notice, because he just ran up to the end of the bed, "It's absolutely terrible!" I glance at Riku, he seemed to still be blushing and trying to regain his composure. So, I turned to Sora, "What? What's wrong?" Only now did I see that his expression was truly pained. He gripped the railing at the end of the bed,

"Radiant Garden … it's dying."


	7. Chapter 6: Exchange

**Ch. 6**

_**Exchange**_

Riku turned to Sora, seemingly forgetting about our little moment. _I knew it_, I quietly scolded myself, _nothing's changed … I'm still no more than a friend to him._ I glanced back at Sora, "What are you talking about?" For a moment Sora looked frustrated, "It's dying … Radiant Gardens is dying …" I looked over at Riku, after all, even with the stories, I had no memories, no connections to Radiant Gardens. Riku's eyes were wide and his jaw dropped, "What do you mean?" Sora started heading out the door, "The king can explain it better than I can. Come on!"

"Sora," Riku called after him, glancing at me with a slightly amused expression on his face. I giggled, scratching the back of my head. I glanced back at the door, only to see Sora poking his head around the corner, "Yeah?" Riku held up his wrist, "Did you forget?" I tried to stifle a laugh as Sora stared for a moment, then gasped, "Oh! Right! Just a sec!" I sighed, already completely exhausted, "Well, that was mildly entertaining." Riku chuckled, "Yeah." He sat back down in his chair, for some reason not sitting all the way back, but on the edge of the seat. I shrugged, lifted my legs back onto the bed, and flopped back on my pillows, covering my eyes with the bend of my elbow.

I peeked out at Riku for a moment. He had his elbow on the arm of the chair with his chin resting in his palm. I sat up and looked at him more closely; he looked so deep in thought … so adorable. I smiled, "What's wrong?" At first he didn't answer so I shifted toward him a little. I shook him lightly by his shoulder, "Riku?" He jumped slightly, "W-what?" I rolled my eyes, "I said 'what's wrong?'" He shook his head, "Nothing."

"Well, she should be fine now," the king's voice came from outside the doorway, "we can't give too much of Riku's Soul Reflection to her." I looked toward the door and Riku stood up. Then, a waist height mouse with rounded ears stepped through the door. My hairs stood on end and I was ready to jump up and run if I had to. The rat's gaze shifted from Riku to me and back to Riku, "You can take the IVs out now." I jumped, scooting as far from the rodent as possible, "R-Riku … the rat just spoke." I glanced at Riku, who was unhooking the IVs as if a talking rat was nothing to him.

"Riku!" I panicked as he took the IV out of my arm. The rat moved toward us and I couldn't keep myself from grabbing Riku's arms, as though it would some how protect me from the beast. My gaze kept shifting nervously from him to the little monster with the rounded ears, until his eyes caught mine. He smiled gently, "Don't you recognize his voice?" I looked down at the thing, still keeping hold of Riku, and waited for it to say something. It grinned and giggled, "I'm not a rat … I'm a mouse."

"K-king?!" I could feel my eyes widen. The mouse nodded, still smiling, "You can call me Mickey." Only now did I actually look around to see the others' expressions. Sora was standing there trying not to laugh and Kairi was looking at me with a quirked eyebrow. I noticed that Chip and Dale were gone and breathed a sigh of relief, _at least I don't have to deal with all three._

I tried to smile, though I doubt it was very convincing, "So, where are the two … uh … engineers?" Everyone turned to the king and he simply smiled, "They're landing us on Radiant Gardens." I panicked looking around the room, eyes wide, "We've got rodents piloting the ship? You're all okay with that?!" As I took in their expressions they all looked completely indifferent. I rolled my eyes and buried my face in my hands, _okay, it's alright … rodents piloting the ship is no big deal … I mean, Riku doesn't care so why should I?_

I felt a hand lay on my shoulder and looked up to see Kairi smiling at me, "Just go with it, you'll get used to it sooner or later." I stared at her for a second, dumbfounded, then I simply smiled and nodded. Then a screen in the corner across from my bed lit up, displaying Chip and Dale, who both saluted at the sight of the king. Chip was the one to speak, "We've landed on Radiant Gardens." King Mickey nodded and turned to us, "As soon as we get to Merlin's house we will be doing a general exchange of information. I'll try to explain things better then."

Suddenly, something inside me flinched and twisted … it didn't take me long to realize that it was the side of me that I'd forgotten. I closed my eyes and tried to reach out to that side of me, and I barely heard the others shuffle out of the room. Only when Riku shook my shoulder gently did I realize that we were alone in the room. I must have had an odd look on my face because his expression was worried, "You alright?" My mind was blank, and it took a second for me to comprehend what he'd said. I shook my head, "I-I'm fine, just a little distracted." His face fell with such a bitter-sweet expression that my heart wrenched. I touched his shoulder and put on the most convincing smile I could, "It's fine, we need to catch up with the others." His expression softened as he nodded. He helped me get up and walk out of the ship.

As soon as I stepped out of the ship I could see why Riku and the others loved this place so much; it had tall, stone buildings with all sorts of roofs and windows. But, at the same time, I could see why we had to get here so quickly. There were Soul Eaters everywhere; spider like ones on the sides of buildings, giant eagle like ones in the sky, and cheetah and wolf like ones roaming the ground. Mickey led the way through the ally ways of Radiant garden, stopping to fight what ever Soul Eaters we came across.

Finally we made it to a small building that resembled the others, save for the books scattered about the front of it. A young girl, who appeared to be a ninja, with short black hair was standing out side the door, fending off the Soul Eaters. She stopped for a brief moment and waved at us, cocking an eyebrow when she saw me. The others ignored it, but I couldn't help but feel as if the look on her face meant that I didn't belong here.

When we got inside there were already people waiting for us as they sat around a complicated looking computer that took up most of the back wall, save for a bed and a few odd nick-knacks to the left side of it. There was a young man with blonde spiky hair and dressed in all black standing next to a slightly shorter man, who was also dressed in all black and about five belts around his waist, with long, messy brown hair. Sitting in a chair next to them was a hunched over man with bit of straw hanging from his mouth and blonde hair with an orange head band around it. He turned toward us in his chair, "So you're finally here." The king nodded and the blonde, spiky haired man stepped up, his facial expression barely changing, "So, let's cut to the chase … what are those things and how are they killing Radiant Gardens?"

I locked eyes with the brown haired man and flinched. His expression was one of shear anger, "Who is she? Why are her eyes the same colors as those **things**?" His cruel expression hit me hard and I took a step back, already feeling the tears stinging in my eyes. Suddenly, Riku stepped in front of me, putting himself between me and the man, in a protective stance, "She's here with us, Squall." The man gritted his teeth, "Leon, not Squall." The old man at the computer shook his head, "Let King Mickey speak, dang it." Leon assumed his original posture, standing between the two blonde haired men.

Mickey turned to me for a second, gesturing toward the men as he told me their names, "This is Cloud, Leon, and Cid." I nodded and tried to smile, Riku still standing in front of me protectively. Then, Mickey turned to the others, "The creatures are called Soul Eaters, and, according to Donald and Goof's recon information, they are stealing the light from within Radiant Gardens. Though, this is nothing compared to Destiny Islands. For some reason they seem to be focusing there." Leon shot another scathing glare at me and just as Riku began to relax, he tensed again. Kairi rolled her eyes, "But, why the islands?" The others shrugged and Sora piped in, "Hold on, what exactly is Soul Reflection? I've been wondering for a while."

"Soul Reflection?" Cloud muttered, furrowing his brow. The king looked around at everyone, "The shining liquid that comes from wounds created by Soul Eaters is referred to as Soul Reflection and is the most basic essence of the soul." -he gave a Riku and I a meaningful look- "The more intensely the Soul Reflection shines, the closer the person is to the one that is most precious to them." Riku and I glanced at each other and looked away simultaneously, blushing like crazy … the king couldn't possibly mean ...

The king turned to the others again and continued, "As to why they targeted the islands, I have a few theories. They might have targeted it because two keyblade bearers reside there, or they might have simply decided to start there and then spread to the other worlds." He paused, glancing at me with a sad expression on his face, "However, there is one theory that seems to be the most likely."

I immediately knew what he was going to say, but my mind rejected it, shutting off completely. He nodded, "You know, don't you." Everyone followed the king's eyes, turning to me as he spoke, "They started to appear a few months before you did, Hikari … and as soon as you washed onto the islands is when they began to act; attacking in the islands, stirring in Radiant Gardens, and gathering in the Hall of the Cornerstone at the castle. They are more than likely after you." I looked down and bit my lip, every part of me shaking. I felt a pair of warm hands lay on my shoulders, immediately followed by Riku's voice, "Hika … it's alright." Again I heard Leon take a step forward, "Then won't she just make the Soul Eaters worse if she remains here?!" Riku turned again, taking the protective stance he'd had before, "Then what **should** we do?" I looked up, only to see Mickey walk between the two of them, "It's only a theory. We'll stay here for a couple days to see if the Soul Eaters notice."

"And what if they do?!" Sora shouted next to me, making me jump. Kairi joined him standing on the other side of me, "Yeah, if they are after her and we don't know how to stop them, is she supposed to just keep running from world to world for the rest of her life?!" The forgotten part of me had already shut down, but the part me that was born on the islands the day Riku rescued me from drowning was in a panic. I looked up at Riku, only now realizing that he'd turned to face me, his expression twisted with some unknown emotion. I barely heard him whisper, as though he was talking to himself, "No …"

Sora started shouting again, "So we're just waiting for those things to attack her?" Riku looked as if he were about to turn to his king and object as well, but I grabbed his elbow. He looked down at me, shocked, and I simply shook my head. I inhaled deeply, letting go of Riku, and stepped out from behind him, putting on the strongest face I could, though I was still shaking, "I will wait for them, and if they are after me and I have to run, then fine." The king nodded, "I've already arranged for Donald and Goofy to meet us in the Bailey, where you can wait for a day or so. If you're ready, then we'll go." I nodded.

The others turned back to the computer, Cid looking over his shoulder at us as we made our way to the door, "We'll monitor the Soul Eaters' movements from here." Mickey nodded and opened the door for me. He was pretty polite for a mouse, and I couldn't help but give him a smile that I knew must have looked bittersweet to him. Suddenly, I felt Riku's hand grab my wrist and the King and I turned to see him, Sora and Kairi looking at us pleadingly. Sora was the first to speak up, "Let us come with you!" Kairi nodded, "Please!" Riku, however, didn't say anything. He just gave me a look that made me feel as if he were begging.

I looked to Mickey and he nodded, "Alright, but Sora, you have to stay and help Yuffie fend off the Soul Eaters." Kairi jumped up and down, giggling, while Sora's head dropped. I glanced back up at Riku; his expression was the very definition of relief. And so we set of for the Bailey, much the same way we did to get to Merlin's house; following Mickey and stopping every now and then to fight the Soul Eaters. When we finally got a break, stopping in a large crystal fissure, I started ask the others about the man that they referred to as Merlin, "So, what's he like anyways?"

Kairi shrugged, "He's an old magician … not much else to say." I looked up at Riku, quirking an eyebrow. He smiled, "He's pretty strong." "Yeah," Kairi jumped in front of me, "but he looks a little odd. He's got a long white beard and round glasses. He also wears a blue robe, blue shoes, and a pointy blue hat." I smiled, but, with what was happening, the expression felt a little odd.

The king had been standing a little ways away, keeping watch for any more Soul Eaters. Now he turned back toward us, "We're almost there, so we might as well keep going." We nodded and started walking again. The crystal fissure eventually narrowed, forcing us to walk one behind the other.

When it opened back up it came to a small round cliff. King Mickey and the others continued walking toward two figures standing at the edge of the cliff, but I stopped. When they actually realized that I was no longer following them, they all turned to face me, including the two figures. Riku took a step toward me, "Something wrong?"

I simply stared at the two that we'd come here to meet, quirking an eyebrow, "We came here for a dog and a duck … why, exactly?"


	8. Bonus Chapter

**Bonus Chapter!**

_**Hika's Heaven**_

**A Day in Hika's Life on the Islands**

I woke up to the sound of the beautiful classical music that Riku had set for my alarm. Rolling over onto my back, I inhaled deeply as I stretched out my limbs. The house already smelled of French toast … my favorite. _Riku must already be up_, I grinned, sitting up to stare into the mirror across from the bed … my bed, my room … all inside Riku's house. I couldn't stop the giddy feeling that started spreading through me as I stood and practically ran out of the room. I got that feeling every time I woke up in Riku's house.

I burst down the stairs without giving it a second thought. He was already waiting at the bottom of the staircase. I waved, not paying attention to anything else. Next thing I knew, I stumbled over my own feet and fell down the stairs. Riku caught me easily and simply looked down at me with a worried expression on his face, "You alright?" I giggled, my face heating up slightly as I smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine." He shook his head as I straightened myself out, "You need to be more careful." My grin widened as I nodded, the smell of French toast drifting over me again. I sniffed the air, taking in the sweet scent. Riku laughed, "Yeah, it's finished, go ahead."

I practically ran into the kitchen and sat at the small island that was at the center. I happily ate my breakfast as Riku started to prepare his own. He was such an excellent cook. I smiled, "Where'd you learn to cook stuff life this?" "Honestly," he chuckled, "cook books. Kairi's always giving them to me, saying that neither she nor Sora can cook anything." I laughed, "So, she leaves the cooking to you and takes the left overs?" He laughed and nodded as he finished making his breakfast and put it on one of the many white, blue trimmed plates from the cabinet above the black and gray granite island. He sat across from me and asked, "What do you have planned for today?"

"Well," I thought for a second, already mopping up the last bit of powdered sugar and syrup with my last bite of French Toast, "I was thinking about checking out the new book store, Spell Bound. After that I was going to go out to the island." He looked thoughtful for a moment as he continued to eat. I really wanted him to come. We had so much fun together … at least, **I** thought so. I knew exactly what would convince him, so, as nonchalantly as possible, I shrugged, "Kairi plans on coming." He hmed in reply before swallowing his food and looking up at me, "Mind if I tag along?" I tried to keep from looking too excited as I grinned at him, "Of course!"

***

"Noon already?" Kairi said, looking up from her book at Riku. I sat next to her, reading a romance novel called Lovely Dead. I glanced up at him from behind my reading glasses, "Really?" He nodded, "You ready to go to the islands yet?" Kairi whined, "But Riku!" I couldn't keep my face from falling, "I'm almost done with the first chapter." He smiled that gentle smile of his, shaking his head, "You said you wanted to go out to the island. If we stay here any longer we won't have that long there."

I closed the book and took off my glasses, shoving them in my pocket and sighing as I did, "Alright, I've got enough money to buy it so-" "Could you buy mine to? I'll pay you back I promise!" I shook my head in disbelief, "You really don't have the money?" She gave me the most pitiful look ever and I rolled my eyes, "Alright, give me the thing." She handed it to me, jumping up and down as she did, "Thank you so much!" I chuckled as she ran off to wait with Sora at the book store's entrance. Riku and I walked over to the check out and handed over our books. I glanced at Riku as he paid for his book, "What are you getting?"

He turned to me and held up a thick book, "A Million Fruit Recipes. Kairi pointed it out … it's supposed to have a pretty good recipe for Paupu fruit." The cashier handed me the two novels that I'd bought, "Isn't Paupu fruit that star shaped one that's supposed to bind two people's destinies forever?" He nodded, smiling at me. _He must want to try that with Kairi_ _… looks like Sora has some competition_. I looked back up at Riku after making sure I had the correct change. He was staring down at the cook book, his cheeks lightly dusted over with pink. I smiled and tried to hide the jealousy that crept into me, "Hey, you ready?" He jumped slightly, "Oh, y-yeah."

***

"What did you and Kairi get?" he asked when we were on our canoes, making our way out to the island. I tried to remember Kairi's, "Um, I think her book was something like An Angel's Price. Mine is Lovely Dead." He chuckled, "Sound's like it has something to do with vampires." I shook my head as we finally arrived at the dock and I hopped out of my boat, "No, it's about a husband and his wife. See, she was pregnant with her previous lover's baby, but he was murdered. So, now she's moved on and is in love with this other guy who just proposed to her. Last I read though, she was going a little insane because she ended up having a miscarriage." I tied my boat to the dock then grabbed my book from the canoe and handed it to him.

The cover had the main couple standing at an alter, but the woman's hands were bloody and she held a bouquet of dead flowers in one hand and a knife behind her back in the other. The husband had on handcuffs and the church's pews were bloody. Riku quirked his brow, "Does she actually kill him?" "Don't know," I shrugged, "I haven't read that far." He handed the novel back to me, "What exactly got you interested in that book?" I grinned, unable to stop myself from going on a small rant as we made our way to were Sora and Kairi were standing on the beach, "Doesn't it sound **romantic**?!" He gave me a strange look as he chuckled quietly.

"I mean, she cared so much about her last lover, and then he was just brutally murdered! And on top of that, she ends up losing the child she was supposed to have with him. She even joins the investigation into his death to catch the killer. But, even after all that, she finds the strength to fall in love again! It's so sweet," I gushed. Sora stood in front of us now, laughing, "Really? You're such a hopeless romantic!" I looked away, my face burning as I did, "Yeah … so?" I looked back up to see Kairi slapping Sora's shoulder, "Hey, who cares? I happen to think that story sounds sweet, too. In fact," she paused, her eyes shifting to meet mine, "Mind if I barrow it when you're done?" I smiled, "Not at all."

Then, she and Sora walked off, probably making their way to their 'secret spot', though it wasn't much of a secret; it was just a hole between a couple roots of a huge tree. I, on the other hand, had no intention of going anywhere. I layed down in the sand, stretching out my limbs before grabbing my book and opening it to the last page I'd read. When I took out my reading glasses and put them on Riku layed down next to me, "What's happening now?" I looked at him excitedly, "You just want me to read it to you?" He smiled at me, "Sure." I giggled and started reading. I loved reading, and reading aloud was even better. It was like sharing a story with others and I would always get really into it.

I finished a couple chapters before I put the book down and sat up. He sat up too, "Could you read the rest of it?" I grinned at him, "Well, it's starting to get late. You could borrow it if you want." He nodded and stood up, "You're right, we should get Sora and Kairi and go back." He helped me up and we started making our way to their secret place. We walked into the cave only to see Kairi and Sora in a major lip lock. The two immediately separated, both of their faces completely red. I panicked, "Uh, s-sorry!" Riku stepped in front of me, "L-lets go. We can give them some more alone time."

I could hear Kairi behind us shouting, but I couldn't really make out what she was saying. We waited outside for the two of them to straighten themselves out. I glanced up at Riku to see him staring at the ground with the slightest blush on his face. I almost said something but Sora and Kairi came out before I could. They looked totally embarrassed and Sora was a little frantic, "Well, I guess we better go." I shook my head, deciding to forget the whole incident, "Yeah, let's go, love birds." Sora and Kairi looked away, blushing like mad, and Riku looked like he was trying to hold back a smirk as he chuckled slightly. Then, we made our way to the boats.

Finally Riku and I were back at his house. I walked into his living room and flopped down on his sofa, "Ah, good to be back." He laughed, "Aren't you at least going to change?" I closed my eyes, "Nah, I'm good." "Come on," he grabbed my hands, trying to get me up, "if you lay down on the couch you'll fall asleep." I moaned and allowed him to tow me to my room. As he did, he gave me a little lecture, "You shouldn't sleep on the couch. Your neck will be sore when you wake up."

When we got to my room, he closed the door behind me, "Get changed and get some sleep." I sighed, "I don't want to do this." I heard him laugh just outside the door, "Well, you still have to." I frowned, "Can't I just go straight to sleep?" "No." he replied. With that, I groaned and changed into the black and red night gown that Kairi had gotten for me.

Then I layed in my room for a second, waiting to hear the classical music come from Riku's room. When it started up I stood and walked over to his room. I knocked on the door and jumped a little when he opened it. He looked down at me with that same smile on his face, "You can go on in, I've got to go fill Makodo's food bowl." I grinned and nodded before moving out of his way. Now I stood in middle of his room, looking around.

That's when I noticed something. Normally I'm not the most observant person in the world, but I still saw it. A long black cloak with silver chains hanging from the hood was lying on his bed, next to it was a strip of cloth that looked like a blind fold. I walked over to it. _Wow_, I grabbed the cloak, _this looks so warm_. I tried it on, walking over to the mirror to see how it looked.

"What are you doing?" Riku's shocked voice came from just behind me. I turned to him, "W-well, it looked really nice so…" "Please," he walked toward me, his face hidden by his hair, "take it off." I gazed up at him, "Why?" Riku looked away, mumbling, "I … I don't want to remember." I could feel my expression soften, "Sorry, but you know, if there's something you need to talk about, I'm always here."

I turned away and shrugged out of the cloak. Riku took the cloak from my hands and walked to the closet to put it up. He shut the closet door and turned back to me, "Thanks, Hika." I grinned and nodded.

He walked to his bed and crawled under the covers, reaching over to the radio on his night stand and shutting it off. I sat on the bay window next to him like I always did. He smiled as he drifted off and I reached up to shut off the light, "Good night, Riku." Makodo walked into the room and jumped onto the bed, causing Riku to stir slightly. I raised my index finger to my lips when Makodo started whimpering, "Riku doesn't need to know"

Then, I glanced out the bay window. The creatures had been showing up every night … not many, but they were increasing in numbers each time. Makodo jumped down and pulled Riku's keyblade out from under the bed. I patted his head, taking the keyblade from his mouth as I did so, "Thanks boy. I'll finish this up, then I'll go to sleep."

Then, I turned to the window, opened it up, and jumped out, ready to fight.


	9. Chapter 7: Illusion

**Ch. 7**

_**Illusion**_

Kairi laughed, "Not just any dog and duck! It's Goofy and Donald!" I looked at Mickey, tilting my head in confusion. He giggled, answering my silent question, "Yup! The dog is Goofy and the duck is Donald." I sighed, my head and shoulders dropping, _just go with it_, I told myself, _might as well, there's no other choice._ Looking back up, I straightened my back and held my head high, "Hi, Goofy, Donald. I'm Hikari." Goofy let out a funny laugh, "No need to be so formal." Donald squawked, "Yeah, we're all friends!" "Oh," I blushed slightly, "then it's okay to cut to the chase?" The two nodded.

"Then, what exactly are we going to be doing here?" I asked, trying to look as determined as possible as I walked to join the others in front of Donald and Goofy. King Mickey was the one to answer, "As I said at Merlin's house, we'll be waiting to see if the Soul Eaters react." Donald crossed his wings, "Yeah, with you out in the open, it's an opportune moment for them. If they react at all, it will probably be within the next couple days." I nodded, "Alright." I admit that I was still shaking, and had been the whole time … I was terrified. Who wouldn't be? But, it was for them … for all of the wonderful people I'd met on the islands: Sora, Kairi … Riku.

My head started to ache slightly, but I shook it off. The others began to disperse, some going to the mouth of the narrow valley we'd walked through to get here and others going inside it, waiting for the creatures. But Riku stood exactly where he was, just a little ways away from me. His head was down, his silver hair hiding his face. I looked down at his hands, which were balled into fists. He couldn't be worrying about me, right? He still has Kairi, so … suddenly my mind flashed to our moment on the ship and what could have happened.

The pain in my head flared at the thought. No, it wasn't just my head in general; it was the side of me that I had forgotten. Was it reacting to Riku? I turned away from him, hiding my expression, which was probably twisted in pain. Walking over to the cliff, I laid down at its edge, burying my face in the bend of my elbow and letting my legs dangle over the side. I sighed, _might as well use this chance to sort out my thoughts_.

Alright … so the Soul Eaters were probably after me, and this little test would prove it … but what then? _No_, I thought, _don't think about that … just think about the things you can handle right now._ Nodding to myself, I continued. Soul Reflection … the essence of the soul … so if you lose too much, then that means you lose your soul? Yeah, that's the only explanation for my nearly dying when we left the islands. So that must be what the Soul Eaters are after … duh, that's why they're called 'Soul Eaters.' But why would they be after my soul specifically? It must have something to do with my past. I shook my head, _dead end._

So, what about their pattern? They showed up in the different worlds just before I arrived on the islands and started to act up **exactly** when I washed up on those beaches. Then, why did they start to attack in Radiant Gardens and Destiny Islands but simply move to the basement in the Castle? The Castle … no, they didn't move to the basement. It was the Hall of the Cornerstone, wasn't it? It sounds important. Maybe this 'Cornerstone' protected the Castle. That has to be it. The Soul Eaters were more aggressive on the islands than here evidently … so they **had** to be after me. Are they after me because I don't really belong there? That's right … I know I don't. But how would **they** know that? Maybe they're after me because of something in my past … _again, a dead end._

My frustration began to build. No matter how much I thought about it, I always ran into a road block … that one small detail that wouldn't let me find the answers to my questions: my past. I slammed my fist on the ground beside me. I didn't even hear when Kairi walked up to me, but when I uncovered and opened my eyes, there she was, smiling down at me. I grinned back, but it couldn't have been very convincing … my head was still pounding, the other half of me reeling from thoughts of Riku.

I sat up as she walked over to sit next to me. Glancing over my shoulder, I scarcely caught sight of Riku as he disappeared into the small chasm. "You know how worried he is, don't you?" Kairi asked, leaning forward slightly to get me to look at her. I shook my head in wonder, "I can't understand for the life of me why he would be that worried." She stared at me, her expression appalled, "Seriously? You've known him for a year and lived with him for six months, but you really can't see it?" I got a bad feeling and the pain in my head intensified, the other half of me writhing. We simply looked at each other for a second, until she finally spoke …

"He loves you."

My other half gave a painful jab and I began to panic, doubling over slightly, "No, that's not true! It's not! You don't see the way he looks at you and Sora! He **wishes** he were Sora!" I kept shouting, everything else around me dropping away, "It's not true!" She put her hand on my shoulder. I must not have looked half as scared as I felt, because she didn't appear to notice anything but a few tears. Again, she leaned forward, "That's not true. **You** don't see the way he looks at **you**. He talked to me about all of that."

"No!"

"He told me that he wants what Sora and I have."

"NO!"

"He wants that with you!"

"NO!" I covered my face with my hands as the pain became unbearable, "He can't! He can't love me the way I love him!" The forgotten half of me interrupted, _don't say that! You can't love anyone but Lea!_ I ignored it, after all, that wasn't the reason I was so scared. I was scared because the islands weren't really my home … and I wasn't doing anything but screwing up his life and everyone else's. Again the pain made me double over, "I don't even belong! I don't belong on the islands or here! I DON'T BELONG IN HIS LIFE!"

Suddenly it fell quiet, the other side of me finally giving up. The pain I'd felt in my head faded to nearly nothing. I lifted my head from my hands. Kairi was gone … she must have understood that, though I'd been hiding it even from myself while I lived with Riku, I knew I didn't belong with them. I stood, wiping away the tears that still streaked my cheeks. _So, now I have to find a way to end this … so that they can move on._ But, when I turned to walk back to the ravine … Riku was blocking my path. The look on his face tore at my heart, and I couldn't keep from taking a step back, _did he hear me?_

"What do you mean?" he took a step toward me. Again I backed away. I couldn't help it … the closer he got the more it hurt, the more that forgotten side of me twisted and writhed, vehemently rejecting him. It shouted, _no! Not him! LEA!_ I clutched the sides of my head … who is Lea? But, I didn't have long to focus on that, because Riku was still walking towards me, "You don't belong? That's not … that **isn't **true." I shook my head, "It is!"

By now, I was backed up to the edge of the cliff and he was only a few feet away from me. "What you said…" he paused, as if trying to arrange his thoughts, "that you don't belong … that I can't …" he stopped again, looking down. When he looked back up at me, the conviction in his eyes took my breath away. He took another step towards me, grabbing my wrist gently, "I **can** love you … I do. I would understand if you didn't care about me for any other reason … but, saying that you don't belong when you do just isn't good enough."

"No…"

"Hika…"

"Don't…"

"I love you."

Then, he gently pressed his lips to mine as he wrapped his arms around my waist, completely shattering the illusion that I'd created for myself. I hadn't even noticed that I'd **created **the illusion, but I did … I had just been so scared and so convinced that I didn't fit into their home, their lives. I couldn't even admit to myself that it was more than just a small crush … but, it is … I do love him, just like he loves me. So, I gave up the illusion and kissed him back, tangling my hands in his silver hair as the tears continued to stream down my face. I'd been crying a lot lately … but now, with this single kiss, I knew that it would stop. I **wouldn't **cry anymore.

No sooner did I react to the kiss, than he pulled away. He looked me in the eyes, "I won't force you … but I'll need a better reason than 'I don't belong'." Trying not to think about it too much, I pulled him closer. This was perfect; we were about the same distance away as we were during our moment in the ship. I stared back at him adamantly, "I've finally decided … I'm throwing away the illusion." Riku's eyebrow quirked, "Illusion?" I shook my head, grinning, "Never mind … like I said, I've made up my mind. Now it's your turn." He laughed, "Can't you tell? I already have."

Taking the chance that had been taken from him on the ship, he kissed me. And this time, he didn't pull away when I reacted. One of his hands drifted to my upper back while the other still held my waist firmly. His tongue shyly traced my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I let him in, tasting him and wrapping my arms around his neck as he timidly explored my mouth. He tasted like something tropical and sweet. The kiss was slow and passionate, and once we separated, I rested my head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry I took so long." I could feel him burry his face in my hair, "I would have waited forever if I had to." Giggling, I whispered, "Then it's a good thing you didn't have to."

Looking over his shoulder, I saw Kairi blocking Donald and Goofy's curious eyes. I grinned, mouthing a small thank you to her. She simply smiled back and turned toward the others. _If only we could stay like this_, my grin widened as I closed my eyes. But now, something tugged at the edges of my mind: my other half. My brow furrowed as I tried to concentrate on that part of me, my arms tightening around Riku. I felt his body stiffen, "Hika, what's-" "Shh.." I whispered, trying harder to contact the forgotten half of me, "… just don't let go."

His muscles remained firm around me … the longer we stayed like this, the greater the sorrow was. For the first time, I tried to contact that side of me, _why? Why are you sad?_ Something inside me moved, _I do __**not**__ love him! I love LEA!_ The force behind the thought paralyzed me. Again, I spoke to that side of me, _who is he? How can you love a man that hasn't even come looking for us?_ My other side flinched away, _he will … he has to. If he doesn't, then that means that he's been …_

A bitter sadness hit me, causing my muscles to tighten again. Just as I was reaching out to that half of me again I heard Riku gasp lightly. Then, he jumped to the side. A ripping wind blew behind us as we fell. We landed hard, Riku putting himself between me and the ground so as to shield me form the impact. He must have hit his head, because when I lifted myself off of him, he was unconscious. I panicked, looking over my shoulder.

One of the giant, eagle-like Soul Eaters was turning around, getting ready to strike again. I reached for the gun on my thigh. I got it out of the holster, but not soon enough; by the time I aimed it, the Soul Eater was only a few feet away. I closed my eyes and squeezed the trigger, praying that I could protect Riku, and doubting that I'd have enough time. But something happened … the weight from the gun in my hand increased and I felt a huge impact hit it. I opened my eyes to see the creature impaled by a huge, shining blade that extended from my gun.

I stared, wide eyed. The Soul Eater let out a shrill cry, wrenching at my heart. It disappeared in a halo of light just like the others. The blade on my gun disintegrated as well, leaving me standing there even more confused than before. I shook my head, _no time, where are the others?_ I looked toward the ravine and there they were, pounding against some invisible wall that blocked them. Then, a haunting, child-like voice rang through the air …

"Making something as pure as a Soul Eater cry … how terrible."

I faced the direction the voice came from. A girl stood at the other side of the cliff. She had long, raven black hair and a child like face with almost luminescent green eyes.

She grinned wickedly, an expression not fitting for a child, "Now, now. This is a horrible way to treat your own kind."


	10. Chapter 8: Kiri

**Ch. 8**

_**Kiri**_

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep as calm as possible. But the little girl didn't answer. She simply stood there, looking around as if searching for something. A pure white dress with a gold bow around the waist covered her petite frame, and she wore white shoes with silver buckles.

I stood and inched my way in front of Riku. _The others are blocked from leaving the ravine, so they should be safe. _But, Riku was still unconscious, so I had to protect him. I held my gun at the ready when she finally turned toward me, "Tell me who you are!"

She giggled, "That's terrible … you can't remember me?" My finger loosened on my gun's trigger, but the other side of me spoke up, _NO! Look at her! Don't you recognize her? _My finger tightened on the trigger again, and I spoke out loud to both the girl and the forgotten half of me, "Should I?" "Why shouldn't you?" she smiled warmly, contradicting the wicked smile that she first wore, "We **were** the best of friends." _Don't listen to her! She … she took Lea from us!_ My forgotten half writhed and my muscles stiffened as her sadness hit me, "Lea … you know who he is?"

Her grin widened, "Of course. Don't tell me you forgot him too." "Tell me," I demanded, "who is he? If you're my friend, then why did you take him?" Her smile slowly fell as her warm gaze started to freeze over, her tone turning cynical, "So, you remember that much, do you?" A shiver went through me, "TELL ME! I want answers!"

She laughed, "Well … he **was** your lover." I flinched away, thankful that Riku was out cold. The forgotten corner of my mind got defensive, _N-no! We never actually __**did**__ anything. I love him, but it __**never**__ went that far!_ My anger grew, and I knew the girl could see it on my face, "Stop lying! Tell me everything you know!" Suddenly, Kairi called out to me, attracting the girl's attention. She scoffed, turning to Kairi, "Shut up, you annoying woman." Then, she flicked her hand in Kairi's direction.

Suddenly, Kairi and the others fell to the ground. I panicked, "What did you do?!" Laughing, she faced me again, "They're not dead, only knocked out." I kept my gun on her, not focusing on anything else except protecting Riku and getting the information I wanted. She frowned and her eyes glowed warningly, "Don't aim that damned conductor at me, you disgusting girl." Her voice seemed to echo in my head, making my muscles constrict painfully and forcing me to drop my gun. I held back a moan, even as the throbbing spread throughout my body.

She smiled wickedly, walking over to the cliff's edge, "Now, come sit with me." Her voice ricocheted in my head again and I tried to hold myself back, but that only made her laugh, "Don't worry, I promise I won't hurt you." She raised her hand as she sat on the rim of the rock face and motioned for me to come to her, "I said, **sit with me**" The pain flared as my body moved to her on its own. I sat next to her, my body still tight.

The girl laughed tauntingly, "It seems he's waking up." She loosened her control, and I whipped my head around to see Riku stirring. He made a sound of pure agony as he began to writhe, "Hika!" My heart twisted, and I started to get up, "Riku!" But the girl slammed her fist on the ground, "**Stay**!" My body snapped back to its previous position, and Riku let out a loud, pained cry. "Stop," I begged, "please!" She giggled, "Alright. So long as you stay right here, not only will I give you the answers you want, I'll leave him alone." He continued to scream and struggle, making my chest clench, "I will. Please, just stop it!" She shrugged, a sad expression crossing her face, "Fine, it was fun while it lasted."

Riku's screaming and writhing stopped, and he simply layed there, out of breath. I looked away, no longer able to bear seeing him like that. The girl looked at me and smiled as if she were talking to an old buddy, "So, Hika … is that what they're calling you?" I kept my mouth shut, but she forced me to shift my gaze to her, "Now, if I'm going to answer your questions, you might as well answer mine." "Only him," my voice trembled as I answered, "Everyone else calls me Hikari."

Suddenly, she laughed as though she couldn't hold it in, "That's rich! Not only have they befriended a Soul Eater, but they call you by the wrong name, too?!" My eyes widened, every part of me shaking, "What?" She cast her now icy gaze at me, "You seem to have selective amnesia … or maybe you and your past self have come into contact." I looked away, only to have the girl compel my eyes back to her, "It's true … you **are **a Soul Eater. Why do you think your eyes are the same colors that they are? And to top that off, Hikari isn't even your real name." My insides twisted, _is it true?_ The other half of me answered, _yes._

"Do you want to know your real name?" she asked in a taunting tone. I could feel my hatred toward the girl in front of me grow, and I knew the expression on my face must have shown it. She laughed, a twisted smile stretching across her small face, "Your name is Kiri. Hikari is **my** name." It felt as if every cell in my body froze, and she giggled cruelly before she continued, "That's right, the only thing you knew up until now was your name, and now, that's not even true." The other side of me started to move, as though trying to break loose and take over. I struggled against it. Maybe I did want to learn about my past, but I wasn't about to give up the way I was now.

"Now that that's cleared up," she continued, "I'm sure you want to know more. For example, the reason that sword came from your gun is because it's something called a Conductor. The alloy that it's made out of uses the power of your Soul Reflection as a weapon, but only when you have a goal that is nearly impossible, like when you wanted to save that man back there." She motioned toward Riku before she continued, "The strength of the weapon itself depends on the purity of one's Soul, as does its shape and appearance when used to it's full potential, like what you did earlier," she clapped, as if congratulating me, "turning a Conductor into a blade that size is a major accomplishment."

"Now, maybe …" She stopped for a second, her expression thoughtful, "I suppose I should explain exactly what those Soul Eaters are … what you are." I flinched away slightly, not wanting to accept the fact that, this whole time, I had been killing my own kind. Still, she didn't stop, "A soul is the light that binds a heart to its body and is left behind when the heart and body die. Likewise, a Soul Eater is a light that keeps even the smallest connection between a Heartless and Nobody alive. When a Heartless and Nobody die, the Soul Eater is the only thing left."

She looked out toward a tall castle in the distance, "Soul Eaters themselves can only survive so long as they have some source of light besides their own to feed off of. That's why Radiant Gardens is dying; they're stealing the light from the heart of this world. But, the only reason they wander in the first place is because they are searching for something … something inside of you."

Something dawned on me, but still I refused to acknowledge it. She, however, forced me to see it, "That's right … the creatures you have been destroying are nothing but shards of light, stirred into existence because of you. It's your fault." "But," I mumbled, practically to myself, "if that's true, then why is a Soul Eater like me alive?" She laughed, "The answer to that question is also the reason the Soul Eaters are after you, and that, I won't tell you. After all, I can't let you spoil all my fun."

Hikari stood, brushing her self off and turning to face Riku. He moaned as he tried to roll onto his stomach. I felt her control slip and got up and ran to Riku. By the time I got to him, he was clutching his chest, his face twisted in pain as he groaned, "Hika." My brow furrowed, and I shrunk away slightly. Hikari laughed, "He must not have heard me when I said that that isn't your name. You'll have to explain that to him later." She faced away from us and looked like she was about to step off of the cliff.

I looked at her as a thought crossed my mind, "Wait! What is **your** connection to the Soul Eaters?!" Hikari glanced over her shoulder at me, a warped smile spreading across her face, "I am their opposite." With that she turned away and jumped off, disappearing in a shroud of darkness. I didn't have time to focus on that; Riku was hurt … bad. I looked down at him, lifting him in my arms. That didn't help anything. His head fell back and his face twisted in pain as he moaned again.

I glanced over my shoulder toward the ravine to see Kairi and the others just waking up. I called out to them desperately, "HELP!" They immediately ran to us, the terror obvious on their faces. Kairi and Mickey were the first to reach Riku and me. Kairi sat next to me while Mickey sat across from me, gently getting Riku to lower his hands from his chest. He was breathing heavily as Mickey lightly probed his chest. I couldn't even look at anything else. All I saw was his face, twisted and crumpled in pain.

Mickey finally looked up at me, "A couple of his ribs appear to be broken. Still, I can't tell the real extent of the damage." Goofy and Donald now stood behind Kairi and me. I felt Goofy's hand on my shoulder, "We'll have to be going to the ship soon." Donald chimed in, "Yeah, that Soul Eater came after you. That must mean that you're their target." Mickey nodded, "I'll call Chip and Dale and tell them to get the ship down here. Goofy, Donald, you two can go get Sora from Merlin's house. And Hika," -I looked up at him- "can you watch Riku?" He gave me a small wink, making me look back down at him as my face heated slightly.

The others dispersed, leaving Kairi and me to look after Riku, who had now calmed down, save for his heavy breathing. I held him as close as I could as my mind searched for something trivial to distract me. I looked to Kairi, "What is this cliff called anyways?" She smiled, probably seeing through my little plan, "I talked to Goofy and Donald about that earlier. They said that it's called 'The Dark Depths'."

"Why?" I asked, relieved to find something to keep me from thinking too much about what was happening. "Well," she replied, adjusting so that she could sit more comfortably, "I honestly have no idea. Donald and Goofy don't know, either. Actually, I don't think anyone does." With my one chance at distracting myself shot, I shifted my gaze back to Riku. He had finally relaxed and was looking straight up at me, his breathing still labored.

I smiled at him, trying to hide how worried and scared I was, "Hey." He didn't look convinced, and he seemed like he was going to say something but flinched when he tried. I glanced at Kairi and she simply smiled, "It shouldn't take them too much longer." I looked back down at Riku, "You hear that?" He smiled and nodded. Kairi lightly touched his chest and he inhaled sharply. Her worried gaze shifted to me, "What did she do to him?" I frowned, "I … I don't know. She forced me to sit down next to her. When I tried to get up to help him, she got mad and forced me to sit back down. That's when he just started screaming."

Remembering the sound of his cries made me cringe. Kairi must have noticed, because she wrapped one arm around my shoulders comfortingly, "Hey, he's strong, you know that. He'll be fine." She was right, but that didn't put my mind at ease. Everything that had happened was just too much to handle at the moment. I needed something to keep my mind off of things.

"We already know what world we're going to next," Goofy's voice came from the direction of the ravine. I looked over my shoulder to see Donald and Goofy standing behind us, Sora standing between them with a terrified look on his face. Sora let out a sharp yelp as Donald stepped on his foot and gave him a meaningful look. He shook his head, as if coming out of a daze, "We'll go to Wonderland next." Kairi glanced at me for a second, then gave Sora a weird look, "I've never been there, what's it like?" I felt Riku's body shake in my arms slightly as he chuckled, "Strange. That's probably the only word to describe it."

"Hey," Sora whined, "I thought it was pretty cool, even if it was a little weird." I looked down at Riku, who was now smiling slightly, even though it was obvious he was still in pain, "Yeah, well I guess you would fit right in, wouldn't you?" Sora frowned, crossing his arms. Kairi giggled and, despite what had happened just moments ago, I joined her. Like many times before, Riku was able to distract me from my dark thoughts. I looked down at him, giving him a grateful smile, which he must have understood because his grin widened and he nodded.

"So," Kairi stood, dusting her legs off as she did, "why Wonderland?" "Well, one of the king's friends was sent out for recon on other worlds," Donald squawked. Goofy scratched the tip of his nose, "According to Cid, he sent us a transmission saying that the same thing that's happening here is happening there, too." "The king's friend … what's his name?" Kairi asked as if that was the most essential information, even in our current situation. I really didn't care about his name, though. Riku trusted the king, and by now, even though he was a rat, I trusted him, too. The fact that he was Mickey's friend was all I needed.

I shifted my gaze to the small chasm and saw the king approaching. When he reached us, the King smiled as he answered, "None of you have seen him, not even Riku. Only those at the castle and a few people that were originally from the world of Midgar know him." Sora tilted his head curiously, "Well? Who is he?"

Mickey beamed, "His name is Vincent Valentine."


	11. Chapter 9: Cheshire Trickery

**Ch. 9**

_**Cheshire Trickery**_

"Shouldn't we have said goodbye?" I scratched my head as I leaned on the all next to Kairi. I remembered when we'd left Radiant Gardens and received the same farewell from the Soul Eaters as we had on the islands. They'd gathered around the ship and cried out, as if begging us not to leave. Now, Kairi and I were on the ship, standing outside the room that I had been in when I nearly died, waiting to hear what Hikari had done to Riku. She giggled, "Nothing we can do about it now." Sighing, I turned toward her as I pushed myself off the wall I'd been leaning against, "The ship looks so small from the outside." She looked at me and smiled, "Yeah, but the King managed to somehow fit in all the essentials: infirmary, engine room, control room, and anything else you might need."

"So," I asked when a question popped into my head, "where did this gun come from?" I gestured to the gun on my thigh. She stared idly into the distance, "It was with your cloak when we found you. When you decided you didn't want the cloak, we thought you wouldn't want the gun either. But, we still kept it, just in case."

"He'll be fine," Mickey said as he came out of the infirmary, "a couple of his ribs are cracked, that's all." I was still nervous as I peeked into the room, "But he screamed so loud." When I peered into the infirmary Riku glanced up at me, smiling. But I immediately retreated around the corner, looking worriedly at Mickey, "Did you find out what she did to him?" He shook his head, "No … but she didn't physically hurt him, so he should be alright. Kairi," –he turned to her- "Chip and Dale might be able to use your help in the engine room."

"Actually," I interrupted, "I need to talk to everyone first." Kairi smiled, "Okay." She walked into the infirmary with Mickey trailing behind. I followed behind them. When I got into the room Kairi was sitting in a chair next to Sora, who was sitting to the right of Riku's bed, and Mickey was sitting at the foot of the bed. Riku himself was sitting up in the bed, a couple IVs laced into his arms, probably giving some sort of medication, and a bandage wrapped around his head from when he'd hit it. I went and sat in the chair to the left of Riku, "I'm not sure what you heard of the conversation between me and that girl, so I'll explain the whole thing."

I told them everything that had happened with Hikari, leaving out the part about Lea. The forgotten half of me spoke up when she noticed that I'd neglected to mention it, _we didn't do anything, I swear. _I smiled inwardly, _I know, I trust you. _After I finished explaining everything that happened I took in the looks on their faces. Kairi's brows were furrowed, and she was holding onto Sora's hand tightly. His expression was distant, as if what I'd said didn't quite sink in, and Mickey, who now stood just a few feet in front of him, looked to be deep in thought. I'd avoided Riku's face for a while, but when I actually looked at him, I didn't know why I had. He was simply smiling at me … my guess is that he'd heard the whole thing … even the part that I'd excluded.

He held his hand out for me, that gentle grin still on his face, "So, what do you want us to call you?" Everyone's eyes shifted to Riku, as though he'd said the strangest thing. His expression softened, "If your name is Kiri, is that what you want us to call you?" Suddenly, the other part of me started to feel uneasy. I thought for a moment, not that I didn't know the answer, I just didn't know if I should say it in front of every one. He still held his hand out patiently for me so I took it. _You know what?_ I thought to myself, _Why not?_

I sat on the bed by his knees and held his hand, "No … Kiri isn't **my** name." For a second he quirked an eyebrow, so I continued, a smile now spreading across my face, "Kiri is the name of the woman that loves Lea … Hika is the name of the woman that loves you, Riku. So, please, continue to call me Hika." For a moment, he was shocked, as was everyone else, but they all smiled. Riku stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, "Alright. I love you too, Hika." I spoke to my other half, _is that okay? Do you mind if I call you Kiri?_ For the first time, I could feel happiness from her, like she was grinning at me, _of course, thank you so much._

"Aw," a small chipmunk voice interrupted the moment, "lovey-love love birdies." Everyone turned to the monitor in the corner of the room and Mickey stepped forward, "Dale?" The red-nosed chipmunk saluted at the sight of his king, "We're ready to land!" Mickey nodded and the monitor turned off as e turned toward us again, "We can talk more with Vincent when we get to the meeting area."

Everyone filed out of the room and I stood to leave, expecting Riku to stay behind. But, he got up as well, not letting go of my hand even as he unhooked the IVs. I stepped off the ship and glanced at him, "Are you sure? Your ribs …" "I'll be okay." Riku reassured me, squeezing my hand lightly. Then, we turned to face Wonderland.

"What the?" I was at a total loss for words as I stood in the middle of an odd, circular room, with huge, larger than life furniture, "This is Wonderland?" Everyone else just sort of giggled. "Donald, Goofy, Kairi!" Chip's voice shouted from inside the ship, "You guys should stay back here! We could go to other worlds to check on them!" Mickey turned to them and nodded, "We'll bring Vincent back with us when it's time to go." So they got back on the ship, leaving Mickey, Sora, Riku, and me to walk through a large hallway that came off of the strange room.

At the end of the hallway was a huge door … too huge. The door handle was bigger than Riku. Sora laughed at my expression, "Just wait." Suddenly, the door opened, only to reveal another door, then another, then another, until finally it opened to a door that was small enough for us. I sighed, _just go with it Hika._ Riku chuckled as we walked through the door.

This time we came to a large, square room with a circular table and chair in the middle and furniture scattered along the walls, all of which were too big for us. We followed Mickey to the table where we then had to jump up onto the chair and then the table. At the far end of the table were two cans; one blue one and one orange one. Mickey walked over to a man that rested beneath the blue one. He wore a tattered red cloak and all black underneath with a red cloth tied around his forehead. His long black hair was disheveled. He looked at Mickey, nodded, and stood to face us. I was completely caught off guard. He was just so handsome! I quickly looked away from his red eyes and directly at Riku, "I'm guessing he's Vincent?"

The man walked over to us, stopping in front of me, "That's right. You're name is Hikari, isn't it?" Again I looked away, but Riku calmly corrected him, "No, her name is Hika." "My apologies," he bowed his head slightly, "can you tell me what's happened thus far?" My eyes shifted toward Mickey, who simply nodded. Sora was the first to start explaining, then he let me continue when it came to telling Vincent about Hikari.

When it was over, Vincent looked thoughtful, "So, you're a Soul Eater? I thought as much." Mickey stood next to him, "So, what's been happening here?" He nodded, "The Soul Eaters here seem to be stealing the light from the heart this world. The Cheshire knows something, but I can't make any sense out of his riddles." "So," Riku crossed his arms, "they're doing the same thing here as they were on Radiant Gardens." Vincent nodded, "If we could find a way to stop this, we would be able to stop what's happening there, too." "Cloud and the others will be able to hold the Soul Eaters back for a while longer." Sora stepped forward, "But, we don't know anything about the Soul Eaters, so how are we supposed to stop them?" Mickey looked at me, "What about Kiri? Can you find out anything from her?" "I could try." I looked up at Riku, "Her presence is stronger when you're around … will you come with me?" He smiled and nodded.

Then we walked over to the cans, me leading the way. When I stopped next to the orange can, Riku wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I put my hands on top of his, leaned my head back against his chest, and tried to contact Kiri. It wasn't that hard, in fact it seemed like she was waiting for me. _So, _I asked, _what can you tell me about the Soul Eaters?_ She answered me quickly, _they shouldn't be acting like this … they used to be nothing but light, they actually used to help me._ I couldn't believe it, _what? Kiri, what do you mean?_

_I would have to tell you everything for you to understand,_ she seemed to be searching through her thoughts. She found were she wanted to start, _when I first awakened, it was in the castle on Radiant Gardens. Something had happened, something that drew us out of the heart of that world. Then I met a boy named Lea and his friend, Ienzo, they said that they were helping a couple men named Ansem the Wise and Xehanort experiment on the darkness in peoples' hearts and that they could possibly help me figure out what I was. Because of the experiments, I learned that the creatures known as Soul Eaters would listen to anything I told them. The experiments didn't last that long, because soon Ansem banned them. But, secretly, Xehanort and Lea continued the research, though eventually, that came to a complete halt. Xehanort claimed that it was my fault, that something about me was blocking the darkness that they were attempting to research._

_That's when he sealed me away inside the heart of a relatively safe vessel, a big mistake. Putting me inside that body allowed a deep darkness to manifest, taking the form of Hikari._ I stopped her for a moment, _wait, where were you sealed? What was your vessel?_ For a second, she didn't say anything. Finally, she answered, _Sora._ I was too shocked to respond, so she continued, _I was sealed deep inside Sora's heart when he was turned into a Heartless, and when he changed back into a human, the seal was completed. But, something that Xehanort didn't foresee was the fact that, when Namine began to tamper with Sora's memory, the seal was messed up, and I was released._

_For the longest time I looked for Lea and Ienzo. After all, during my time with them Ienzo became my best friend and I'd come to love Lea. But I couldn't find them anywhere. Come to find out, they'd changed into Nobodies. One named Axel and another named Zexion. Still, they were essentially the same, but they'd aged, where as I didn't because __**I **__had been sealed away since I was seventeen. Hikari, the one that had been released when I was closed up inside Sora, began to move. She started to search for something. What, I still have no idea, all I know is that what ever it is, the Soul Eaters are searching for it, too. She believed that Axel and I knew exactly what she was looking for and where it was, so she tried to get it out of us. That memory is the first one you had, the only one you have._

_When she discovered that we didn't have anything to tell her, she released Axel, who rejoined the organization that Xehanort had formed and met a boy named Roxas. But, she wanted to make sure she could use me in the future, so she suppressed my memory, causing a whole other awareness to develop inside my body, and dumped me in the ocean on Destiny Islands, that's how you came to be. Now, our body retains both my soul and yours._ She finished, then waited patiently for me to gather my thoughts. I finally got myself together and decided to focus on what was important now and save the rest for later, _so, if we can just find out what she's looking for, find that, then give it to the Soul Eaters, they'd stop._ Kiri thought for a second, _yes, but something's changed. Hikari has twisted the Soul Eaters, changed them to suit her needs, now they seem to be after you._ I smiled, _thanks Kiri._

I opened my eyes, only to see a huge, pink and purple cat face right in front of mine. I screamed and tried to back up, causing both Riku and me to fall to the ground. I looked at him, "Riku! I'm so sorry!" He stifled a moan, "It's okay, but what…" We glanced up at the strange cat, which was now on top of the blue can. The others rushed over and Mickey giggled, "Cheshire!" The cat took a dramatic pose, looking like he was leaning on something, though there was nothing there, "Hello, your majesty! What brings you here?" Vincent shook his head, "I told you why they'd be coming."

The Cheshire laughed, "Did you?" Vincent moaned in frustration and Sora simply laughed, "It's been a while." Cheshire glanced at Sora, "Yes, it has." The cat disappeared, then reappeared standing on my knees, making me jump. Cheshire grinned widely at me, "So, she's here! The one those nasty beasties are looking for." Riku's eyes widened, "Why? Why are they after her? Do you know?" Again, the Cheshire laughed, "Maybe, maybe not. Who's to say?" I couldn't keep from giggling at the perplexed look on Riku's face.

For a moment, everyone looked thoughtful, but I decided to speak up, "Well, then, is there anything you **can** tell us?" The cat made a grand gesture, holding out his arms, "A fire in the forest!" Simultaneously, everyone jumped, "What?!" "A fire in the forest!" he repeated, disappearing and reappearing on top of the blue can, laying on his side, "Take a drink and check it out. But first," –he now appeared on top of my head, balancing on his front paws and holding his now disconnected head up with his back paws- "a riddle."

I tried to keep my head still, so as not to cause the Cheshire to fall, "What?" Vincent groaned and rubbed his forehead, "Not this again." The Cheshire swayed his tail teasingly, "What is bright but cannot be caught, yet has been sealed in the depths of the heart? The Soul Eaters search for it, but it is just beneath their noses! It joined the worlds, but caused them to part! This is what **you **must find, my dear friends, before the darkness can lay her hands upon it!" Cheshire disappeared for the last time and left us alone.

"What was that about?" Sora asked as he put his hands behind his head. Riku shrugged and got up, helping me to my feet as he did. Mickey looked to Vincent, "Do you know?" Vincent looked thoughtful, "Well, I can't tell you anything about the last part, but I might know what he means by, 'a fire in the forest'." Riku stepped forward, "Can you show us?" Vincent nodded, "Let's go." We took turns drinking from the blue bottle, and the next thing I knew, we were all bigger than the furniture in the room. I shook my head, _whatever, might as well get used to stuff like this happening._

Suddenly a small white rabbit burst through the door we had come in through, "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"


	12. Chapter 10: Lea

**Ch. 10**

_**Lea**_

"Oh, I'm terribly late!" the small white rabbit panicked, "Horribly late! What to do, what to do! It'll be off with my head soon, that's for sure!" My eyes widened, "**Off with your head?!**" The rabbit spared only a second to look in my direction and give me a small nod before running to the bed that was in the corner of the room. He looked at the bed with worry, "Oh, dear!"

Sora walked to the bed and looked down at the white rabbit, "Don't worry, I can take care of this, I've done it before." With that, he gave the bed a sharp push, causing it to slide **into** the wall. The rabbit turned to Sora and bowed slightly before turning to an opening that had been hidden behind the head bored of the bed. Glancing around at the others, I whispered, "Should we stop him?" Vincent heaved a sigh, shaking his head, "No, it happens all the time." "That opening's too small for us." I quirked an eyebrow, redirecting my attention to the opening. Vincent turned to the table, picked up the small orange can, and took a drink. He shrank back to his normal size and walked silently over to the opening to wait for us.

After we all shrank we joined Vincent and walked through the doorway. When we stepped through we came to a small grassy area trimmed with hedges. The hedges had one opening, which was shaped like a heart. On either side of the opening stood a card … or, well … hmm, maybe more like a guard? One was an ace of spades and the other an ace of hearts. Vincent walked past them at a leisurely pace, and they paid absolutely no attention to him. I shook my head and mumbled, "Some guards." Vincent had heard me and looked over his shoulder at me, "I've been here long enough that they don't bother with trying to get me out anymore."

We reached another heart shaped doorway and walked through it and into a forest. "A fire in the forest," I mumbled to myself. Mickey tugged on my Capri's and motioned for me to lean closer. I kneeled down next to him, and he did the same to Riku before whispering, "Aren't there supposed to be thousands of Soul Eaters here?" "There are." Vincent suddenly lifted his hand and pointed to a small space between some of the unusually tall grass around us. A small glint of silver and gold was showing from between the grass. The others walked through without hesitation, but I paused and closed my eyes, _Kiri, as soon as we get the chance, we __**are**__ going to sit down and talk about everything you told me today._ I could feel her smiling at me, _Of course, I knew it would be a bit too much to take in all at once._

"Ah! You are beyond annoying!" an angry voice shouted from the directions the others had gone. I quirked an eyebrow as I went to join them, "What in the world…" As soon as I got through the grass I bumped into Riku, who simply stood there, looking at something I couldn't see with a strange expression on his face. In fact, everyone was staring at something with an odd look on their faces. I tried to catch a glimpse by peeking over Riku's shoulder, but he was too tall. I stretched up onto my tiptoes, "Riku, I can't see." He shook his head like he'd just been brought out of a daze and glanced down at me, "Oh, sorry Hika." He moved out of the way to reveal what everyone had been gawking at.

It was a boy that was slightly shorter than Sora and had red, spiky hair. His eyes were a bright, vivid green. He was standing in the middle of a mass of Soul Eaters with his foot on one of them, "Why won't you weirdoes leave me alone?" My muscles suddenly locked up as Kiri began to thrash against the edges of my mind, her emotions abruptly raging inside of me. I struggled to hold her back as she continued to strain against me, _It's him! It's him! LEA!_ My hands bolted to my chest and my fists clenched around the fabric of my shirt, as if to hold myself back, _Riku may know about Lea, but…_

Everyone else just kept staring at Lea, completely oblivious to my struggle, but Riku put his hand on my shoulder, "Hika?" Kiri lashed against me again, her emotions raging in my chest, _Please, please! Let me go to him!_ The desperateness I could feel from her caused a lump to rise in my throat and made my heart writhe. She thrashed again, breaking through. Now, she had control, and she took full advantage of it, running to him. I was too shocked to fight back as she fell to her knees in front of Lea, crying his name and wrapping her arms around him. The Soul Eaters danced around us, as if rejoicing with her.

Kiri was too distracted to realize that everyone else was staring at us, the shock obvious on their faces. But, Riku was the worst … he looked as though his heart was being torn. I turned my attention back to Hika, unable to handle Riku looking at me … at **us** like that. She was still crying, "Lea! I found you! You're back … you're back." Her voice died down and her sobs became soft. Now Lea collapsed onto **his** knees and wrapped his arms around us … no, not us. Kiri … he was holding Kiri, not me. As if to confirm it, he whispered her name with so much love and tenderness in his voice that it took my breath away.

_Oh,_ I shrank back into the deepest corner of my mind, hating myself for refusing to let her go to him in the first place, _how selfish._ I had to face it, this body was no longer just mine, it was hers too. I had to accept that she had just as much right to it as I did. Dwindling further into the corner of my mind, I conceded, _Go ahead … you deserve it._ She smiled at me, _thank you, Hika._ I don't know how long we must have stayed like that before Lea and Kiri calmed down … and the whole time, I felt the pain of being in his arms and not Riku's. _God,_ I thought to myself as I silently sobbed, _don't tell me this is what she felt every time Riku touched me … what about when he kissed me?_ Eventually she handed control back to me, knowing that she couldn't keep it forever.

I moved away from Lea, gently getting him to unwrap his arms from around me. His smile was so adoring, so passionate; it reminded me of the smile Riku had given me right before … _no._ Inching closer to me, his hand moved to caress my cheek, but I flinched away. He withdrew, his expression hurt. I smiled at him apologetically, "I'm sorry; I'm not Kiri … at least, not anymore." He sputtered, giving me a strange look, "What?" I glanced around at the others with a pleading look. Sora quirked an eyebrow, obviously still confused. Sighing, Vincent shrugged slightly, but Mickey stepped forward, "I guess we just have to tell him what's going on."

After I told them who he was I kept my eyes on the ground while the others explained everything that had happened so far, the Soul Eaters still surrounding us. Riku came to my side, but I avoided his eyes, _I'm such a coward._ He almost said something, but Sora spoke up before he could, "So, why were the Soul Eaters gathered around you like that?" Lea scoffed, "That's what I want to know. They keep saying things like 'you're the one she wants' or 'you were brought here for her'. God, it's driving me nuts."

"They talk to you?" Vincent finally spoke up. "Mm-hm," he nodded, as though it was normal for him, "startled me a bit at first, but I got used to it, and as soon as I did, it got super annoying." I couldn't stop from giggling. Sora chuckled slightly, "Okay, so when they said 'you're the one she wants'…"

"Yeah," he sighed happily, "they were talking about Kiri. I didn't think I'd ever see her again, though." He looked at me and smiled, but I knew it wasn't me he was actually seeing. I ignored the giddy feeling emanating from Kiri, and smiled at him, happy that he was giving Kiri so much joy, "Still, we don't know what they mean by 'you were brought here for her'." Everyone's gazes shifted to Mickey, but he looked just as clueless as the rest of us. "Perhaps …" Vincent, paused, "Hika," -he turned to me- "tell us everything Kiri told you before that cat showed up." I nodded and turned to face everyone, then took a deep breath before going over everything she'd said.

"As I thought," Vincent mumbled when I was finished, "this woman, Hikari, I've seen her before. I had a feeling she had something to do with this." "So?" Sora leaned back against a huge tree that seemed to be the center of the forest, "What's on your mind?" Mickey joined Riku and me, "Do you have an idea?" Something suddenly occurred to me, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. Still, I kept my mouth shut as he answered, "Not an idea exactly … but, Hikari was created when Kiri was sealed away, maybe Lea was the same way." "But," I interrupted, absorbed in my own thoughts, "that isn't possible … when Kiri was released Lea had already turned into Axel."

"Oh my!" the Cheshire's voice suddenly rang through the air, "Quite a puzzle!" Lea looked around, "Cheshire, where are you?" I could feel Kiri's annoyance, _not him again._ I laughed nervously, _remember, he helped us get here. Just be patient with him._ I turned my attention back to Cheshire, "You brought us here, now what?" "Yeah," Sora said, pushing him self off of the tree, "all this did was bring up another question! Now we have billions of them!" The cat suddenly appeared on top of Vincent's head. Vincent groaned in frustration, but didn't say anything.

Cheshire layed on his side, fiddling with some of Vincent's hair, clearly annoying him, "Questions must be presented before they are answered." I sighed, "He's got a point." Lea scoffed, "Little smart ass cat." Mickey giggled, "He's got a point." "King," Vincent moaned, "don't encourage it." The whole time Sora was laughing nonstop at the odd sight of Cheshire on Vincent's head. Riku chuckled slightly and I tried to hold back my laughter, "Is there anything else you can tell us? Something that will help stop the Soul Eaters." The cat's body disappeared, leaving only his head, which bobbed just above Vincent's, "All hail the queen!" Cheshire sniggered, "Hail who? The queen has been stolen by the darkness, locked into a deep black dungeon. But, only the brightest key can free her."

Lea gave the Cheshire a strange look, tilting his head slightly, "How does that help us?" The Cat's smile grew, "Traveling the path to the queen will reveal answers that you search for." "Why was she locked away in the first place?" Sora asked, quirking an eyebrow. But the Cheshire simply shrugged and disappeared, his laughter echoing in the forest.

"Now what?" Vincent growled quietly, "We still don't have answers." "Well," Riku finally spoke up, "let's think about all the questions we have." The others nodded, but then Vincent turned to me, "This seems to be centered around you … so, what questions do you have?" My mind went blank suddenly. The spotlight was on me, and I finally had a chance to sort out all of my questions, yet I couldn't even think straight.

Though I knew I had no right because of what had happened earlier with Lea, I took Riku's hand in mine, as if using him as an anchor to pull my thoughts back down to me. As I thought, I completely zoned out, "Well … um … I want to know why Lea is back, how to stop these worlds from being destroyed," –I glared down at one of the Soul Eaters, which immediately began to back away- "and I … I want to know what I am exactly. It's obvious I'm not an ordinary Soul Eater."

Everyone stared at me with pitying eyes, but I still didn't dare to look in Riku's eyes. I didn't want pity. I wanted answers, I wanted help. _We will get answers,_ Kiri encouraged me, _remember what the Cheshire said. If we free the queen, we will get the answers we're looking for._ I nodded, "Well, first, if we go by what the Cheshire said, we need to look for a way to free the queen."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Lea asked, the skepticism clear in his tone, "We don't even know where she is." "Well," Mickey said, looking down as though he was simply thinking out loud, "maybe … Lea, you said you can talk to them, right?" Lea nodded, "Oh yeah, I just **really** don't want to. Once they start they just don't shut up." "Oh," Sora suddenly got the look on his face that made it seem like a light bulb just went off in his head, "maybe that's because you have some sort of connection to them!"

"Then that means," Vincent looked up, "you should be able to talk to them too." I looked at him and raised one eyebrow, _Oh, should I go ahead and try it? _Kiri giggled happily in response, _Go ahead! They're actually very sweet! _ I frowned and groaned inwardly, _Are you sure about that? _Silence was Kiri's response, but I knew that she was wanting me to talk to the Soul Eaters. "I wouldn't do that if I were you…got it memorized?" Lea grimaced as he spoke to me. _Wait…you can hear me? _Kiri asked in surprise. Lea responded with a grin and a nod.

One of the Soul Eaters conveniently stepped forward right after that. _Eh…hi? _I thought to it, a little unsure on how I should treat the creature. It looked over my shoulder a few times and blinked, _Mama…why is there a starfish with legs staring at me? _I tilted my head questioningly and followed the Soul Eater's gaze…straight to Sora. Immediately I let out a chuckle, then I put one hand over my mouth. The Soul Eater was right; Sora's spiky hair was identical to a starfish. Despite my efforts, I could not contain my laughter. I busted out laughing, only to hear a bell-like chirp resound in my head. The Soul Eater's silver and gold body was shaking…was it laughing too?

Lea suddenly bent over, laughing louder than me or the Soul Eater. "Dude, that thing is totally right! You **do **look like a reject starfish!" With that, everyone else started to join in the laughing party while Sora's head fell in embarrassment. I think Vincent was even chuckling, too. In the midst of the laughter, though, one sound stood out to me: a low, heart wrenching screech. _I've heard this before, _I turned toward the group of Soul Eaters, looking for the source of the sound. Before I could pinpoint its location, though, I heard a sad whisper similar to a crying child's, _Mama … Mama, it hurts…_

My eyes widened as I turned to see a small, shaking Soul Eater holding its head as though it were crying, _Mama …_ Some sort of maternal instinct went off inside Kiri and I could feel her desire to cradle the Soul Eater in her arms. But I couldn't even move, I just stood there, shocked, _Wait … Mama? Did it just call me Mama?_


	13. Chapter 11: No More Than a Memory

**Ch. 11**

_**No More Than a Memory**_

"Mama?" I stood stiff as a board, unable to believe what the Soul Eaters called me, "What do you mean?" "Hika?" Riku came to my side, "What is it?" I backed away, unintentionally bumping into Riku, but still avoiding looking at him directly, "They … they're calling me Mama." Sora tilted his head slightly, "Excuse me?" Vincent approached the crying Soul Eater, which still shook and sobbed, "What's that supposed to mean?" _Mama, is that man dumb?_ one of the other creatures asked innocently. I giggled, and Lea was sent into another laughing spree, "That's great!" "What?" Sora panicked, "What did that thing say about me this time?!" The Soul Eater glared at Sora for a second, _I am __**not**__ a __**thing**__! I'm a __**Soul Eater**__._

"Ignore him," I whispered, stifling a chuckle, "please, just tell … um … 'Mama' what you mean." Another Soul Eater giggled, _it means you're our Mama; what else would it mean, silly?_ Kiri's laugh rang through my head, _they've been calling you that that whole time and you just now noticed? You're not very observant._ The other Soul Eater was still crying, and I couldn't take it anymore, _**not**__ funny! Alright, let's ignore that issue for now, this little one obviously needs me._ I put it at the back of my mind with all my other questions as I approached the small Soul Eater, Riku walking beside me.

"Hey, it's alright," I comforted the small, almost human-looking Soul Eater, "uh, Mama's here?" It sounded like I was asking the poor Soul Eater a question as I glanced over my shoulder, almost looking to Riku for help, but stopping myself when I thought of what happened with Lea. Instead, I looked at Mickey, who had been standing next to the crying Soul Eater. The expression on my face probably made it look like I was begging him for help. He simply giggled and gave me a thumbs up. _They all have names,_ Kiri explained, _ask him what his is._ I nodded, "What's your name?" The Soul Eater gazed up at me with its round, golden eyes, looking as though it would burst into tears again, _Y-yui._ I smiled at Yui, "That's a very cute name … So, Yui, could you tell Mama what's wrong?" I heard Riku chuckle softly behind me, but, being the coward I am, I still couldn't bring myself to look at him.

Yui made a noise that sounded somewhat like a hiss, _Spikey stepped on me!_ I remembered when we first saw Lea, a.k.a. 'Spikey', and how he'd been stepping on that Soul Eater's head. Lea let out an agitated groan, "So you're the one I stepped on! Blame yourself! No one makes fun of my hair, got it memorized?!" Everyone, except Vincent, who simply let out a small chuckle, laughed at them, as Lea and Yui glared at each other.

_Mama, Mama!_ An excited, toddler sounding Soul Eater called for me. I turned to it, "Yeah?" The Soul Eater shook with what seemed to be excitement, _we gots a present for you!_ I giggled at the Soul Eater's lisp as the others tried to quiet her, saying that it was supposed to be a surprise. "Hold on," I smiled, "first you have to tell me your name." _I'm Nel,_ she proclaimed proudly, _can I tell you now?_ I nodded, but the other Soul Eaters stopped her. One slightly larger one stepped forward, _we can't tell her! We have to show her._ I shrugged, getting carried away by the feelings of excitement emanating from not only the Soul Eaters, but Kiri as well, "Lead the way."

Everyone else gave me strange looks, excluding Lea, who just groaned. I turned to them, "They said that they have something to show me." They shrugged as they followed Yui and Nel. I stayed behind for a moment, hoping that Riku would go with them. But, no such luck. I kept my eyes on the ground as he approached me. When he was a mere foot away from me he sighed sadly, "There's always something there, isn't there?" I looked up at him for the first time since the incident with Lea, confused by what he said. Riku gave me a bittersweet smile as he stroked my cheek lightly with the back of his finger tips, "There's always something scaring you away from me."

My cheeks heated up, _I'm such a coward._ It suddenly felt as if Kiri was reaching out and hugging me, trying to console me, _I bet you that's not what he thinks._ "Yeah right," I said aloud. Riku gave me a weird look, quirking his eyebrow, "What?" Sighing, I shook my head, "I'm sorry. I was talking to Kiri." I smiled, trying to cover up what I was thinking, "Anyways, what do you mean by that?" Of course, he saw right through it, "You're not very good at that, you know." My smile shrank, "I don't-" _Oh, stop it,_ Kiri interrupted, _hiding things like this from him won't get you anywhere._

Kiri scorning me only made it worse, so I gave up, "I **was** scared. I didn't know what you would think after that whole thing with Lea." He wrapped his arms around my waist suddenly, resting his forehead against mine and smiling, "Did you think I'd be mad at you?" I could feel my blush deepen and knew he'd take that as a yes. He shook his head, causing his nose to rub lightly against mine in a small Eskimo kiss, "Silly girl. I'll admit, it hurt to see that, but I knew that that was Kiri holding Lea, not you." I smiled in relief, "Thinking about it now, I guess it was kind of stupid." He chuckled, "Just a little bit. Now, the others are probably waiting for us. Lets go." I nodded and took his hand as we joined them.

When we met with the others they all stared at Riku and me with meaningful looks on their faces. My face heated up again, but Riku didn't seem to notice. I heard the Soul Eaters laughing in the back of my mind. Yui took my free hand in his thin, silver hand, _come on, Mama, we still have to show you. You can bring Daddy, too._ A giddy feeling spread through me, _Daddy, huh?_ Yui nodded and glanced at Riku as he giggled. My smiled widened as I stared at Riku, and he looked down at me with a quirked eyebrow, "What is it?" I shook my head, "Nothing at all."

Then the Soul Eaters led us as Lea told us how much they had calmed down since we'd arrived. Nel was in front of the pack, leading us through the green hedges and to the bazaar room, where everything was too big for a normal human. But, once we got there, the happiness that had been rolling off the Soul Eaters disappeared.

Hikari was standing in front of a big door with a snoring doorknob. She flashed a wicked smile in my direction, "Long time no see." Around was a swarm of Soul Eaters that had been changed from the human like ones around me to the animal ones that I had fought before. The others stepped in front of me protectively. Vincent drew a gun from a holster that had been hidden by his red cape, "So, this is what you've been doing. That's disgusting." _Vincent must have come to the same conclusion I have, _Kiri thought to herself. _What conclusion?_ I asked. I could feel waves of anger coming from her, _he must have figured out that each one of these Soul Eaters used to be a living person. Hikari … she's twisting them, playing with their souls to change them into monsters for her own selfish purposes._

Yui uttered a small cry, _no! She got my brother, Fai!_ "That's just … why are you doing that to them?!" I shouted, drawing my gun. Her smile turned innocent, "Come now, you know you should be careful with how you speak to me. Now that I've infected Riku with my darkness, I can do what ever I please with him. For example, I could do this." She waved hand through the air and suddenly Riku was pointing his keyblade at my throat. I froze and everyone else turned to look at him, the shock evident on their faces. Riku's eyes were wide, and he stared at his own arm as if it were some sort of alien object, "Hika, I-" I gritted my teeth, "I know, Riku, you can't even control your own hand, can you?"

I turned my attention back to Hikari, "What do you mean, infected? When did you do this to him?" She giggled, "Well, that's a dumb question. You were there. I mean, I practically had to rip his soul from his chest just to reach it." _That must have been what she was doing to make Riku scream before,_ I remembered the first time I'd met her and how much pain she'd put Riku through. "Of course," she continued, "infecting a human is very different than infecting a Soul Eater. Unlike these Soul Eaters, I can't control Riku's thoughts, only his body. And for some reason, you're even more different. I infected you long ago. In fact, I infected you right before I ditched you on Destiny Islands. But, you are different. I can't control your mind, and I can barely control your body at all … I wonder why," she asked sarcastically.

No one dared to move, for fear of Hikari making Riku's blade plunge into my neck, but I was already getting tired of this. I had been jerked around enough that I was finally fed up. _Hika,_ Kiri sounded apprehensive, _what are you planning?_ I took in a deep breath, _I have no idea._ Before I could think about it too much, I acted purely out of reflex, crouching down to put my hands on the ground and thrusting my leg upward to knock Riku's keyblade out of his hand. He grunted slightly as he fell back. The sword fell to the ground a few feet behind me.

"Nice." Lea complimented. I glared at Hikari as my vision began to glow with a strange light, "Tell me what I want to know." Her eyes widened with something akin to fear, and her hand twitched. I jumped slightly as Riku started to lunge at me, his face horrified. Vincent and Sora ran to him and restrained him, struggling to even do that.

Hikari suddenly bared her teeth, a small animal-like growl rumbling deep inside her chest, "Be careful, I might just get a little bored with your game Kiri." Kiri shrank back slightly, retreating to some distant corner of my mind. Seeing the expression on my face made Hikari laugh, "Well, so long as you don't know the truth, I suppose you could entertain me a little longer."

I couldn't stop myself from shaking, even when she finally stopped forcing Riku to come after me. "A few hints to the solutions of your problems should tantalize you enough," she sniggered, "How about a little game of 'did you know'? Sound fun?" She waved her finger toward the untainted Soul Eaters, who then froze, "Now, that'll stop them from interfering." Facing us again, she began to smile like a child, "Did you know that the Soul Eaters only exist because you do? Did you know that you're the only one that can unlock the queen?" –she pointed to the sleeping doorknob for a second before continuing- "Oh, and did you know that all of the questions you have can be answered by one tiny detail?"

Suddenly she rushed up to me, her face mere inches from mine as she smiled devilishly, and her tone turned cynical, "Did you know that that tiny detail is what you are?" Everyone else jumped away, surprised at how quick she was, but I stood my ground. Hikari raised her hands into the air and brought them down. Everyone suddenly fell to the ground, screaming and writhing. She began to laugh hysterically, "Did you know that, no matter how much you try, you can **never** beat me!" I still didn't move, despite the fact that every part of me was shaking, "That's not true." She clenched her fists and thrust them in the air like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, "It is! Look around you! This is just a repeat of last time! But this time, **everyone** is infected with my darkness!"

She calmed down, her hands returning to her sides, "But, I don't want to hurt you too much. After all, I don't like to break my toys." Everyone's screams stopped, but they were far too weak to move. Riku was the only one that was still standing, though she obviously had him in her control and would not let him move. He was trembling and his expression was angrier than I've ever seen.

She giggled at his expression, "All depending on how much you and your doll can entertain me, I'll leave you intact the next time I see you, Kiri. But, until then, I let you in on a secret … your precious Lea is no more than a memory pulled from your past, a memory that you need to destroy in order to free the queen and stop the Soul Eaters on this world."

Then, Hikari disappeared just like she did last time, only this time, she took the twisted Soul Eaters with her. _No,_ Kiri was shaking inside me, _no … I just got him back._ Her heartbreak ripped through my chest as well, causing me to fall to my knees, _I'm so sorry, Kiri._ But, at the moment, she couldn't hear me. Lea was on the ground near by, his brow furrowed and his expression pained, "I … I'm no more than a memory?" Everyone else was still on the ground, barely able to move after nearly having their souls ripped out by Hikari. They were probably still trying to process what had happened. Kiri was still out of it; her mind was so shell shocked from what Hikari had said that she wasn't aware of anything else. I myself wasn't aware of Riku coming to my side until he kneeled next to me and wrapped his arms around me.

He gently kissed the top of my head as I let myself melt into his arms, "We have to find a different way." I nodded, wanting to comfort Kiri, "We can't trust Hikari anyways. Maybe there's something else-" _No,_ she interrupted me, coming out of her daze, _there is nothing else to do. Hikari doesn't lie. She's doing this on purpose; telling us the truth, stringing us along until we break._ Lea sat up, his expression unchanging, "Kiri's right. Hikari enjoys toying with us."

I sighed and pulled away from Riku, "I have to let Kiri do it, though. Lea … he's her memory, and she needs to be the one to say good bye to him." Of course, I knew exactly what kind of good bye Kiri would want to give Lea, and I knew it would hurt me, but it was going to hurt her more. Riku smiled at me, "I understand, but what about you?" Shaking my head I got up and truned to Lea, who was now standing behind me, "I'm not the one that matters right now."

I could feel Kiri's surprise at my last statement, but I could also feel her gratitude, _thank you, Hika._ Riku helped all the others get up and led them to the area with the green hedges. When the room was clear, save for me and Lea, I handed control over to Kiri, sinking to the deepest corner of my mind, _Alright Kiri, do what you have to do._


	14. Chapter 12: Walls

**Ch. 12**

_**Walls**_

_I can't believe this_, I thought as I sunk deep into the recesses of my own mind, trying to give Kiri her privacy as she approached Lea with my gun in her hand, _Kiri, I'm so sorry … you finally got the person you love back, and now …_ I couldn't even bring myself to finish the sentence. She smiled a bitter sweet smile, _No, it's not something for you to feel sorry for. You have enough to worry about._

_I'm the one who's sorry,_ Kiri stroked Lea's cheek with her fingertips_, someone as kind as you shouldn't have to go through this_. He embraced her as he pressed his lips to hers in a fiery kiss. Without hesitation she kissed back, quickly tangling her fingers in his spiky red hair. A ripping pain ran through me while I reminded myself that Kiri had to go through this when Riku kissed me, _I guess it's my turn, huh?_

A few moments later, their lips separated and they simply held each other. He whispered in her ear, "I love you, Kiri," –he paused before pulling away and pressing his forehead against hers, smiling widely- "got it memorized?" Tears started to cascade down her cheeks even as she smiled back at him, "Of course I do." Then they both closed their eyes and she raised the gun to his stomach. He suddenly took hold of it and moved it up to the left side of his chest, "Aim for the heart." She bit her lower lip as the tears began to come faster. Just as she pulled the trigger, she whispered, "I love you, Lea."

Then the gun went off. The sound tore through both of us, sending Kiri to her knees as his now limp body collapsed into her arms. She clutched him to her chest and broke down, screaming and crying. Her torturous pain hit me like an explosion, making me recoil, desperate to get away from the pain. But, I stopped myself, _no … no. We share this body, so we __**will **__share this pain!_ I forced myself to endure the sound of her cries, the feeling of her agony as she held Lea's body.

Suddenly, he began to fade away. I panicked, _what's happening?_ Kiri's sobs began to die down, but it still took a moment for her to answer. When she regained her composure, she answered quietly, practically a whisper, "This Lea is a memory … when a memory dies, it doesn't leave behind a corpse."

I tried to reach out the way she had before, to comfort her, _Kiri, I'm-_, "The others are probably waiting for us," she interrupted, "we should go." With that single sentence, something changed, like a wall was built between us. I could no longer feel what she felt or hear what she thought. She walked to the area with the green hedges and as soon as she caught sight of Riku, she handed control over to me, _Savor every moment with him._ I grinned, _always_.

Riku immediately walked to me, his face calm, though the panic was clear in his eyes, "Hika?" I nodded and he wrapped his arms around me, "Is everything okay? How's Kiri?" I tried to contact her, but when I reached for her she didn't even respond. _No,_ I clutched onto Riku's vest, my heart speeding up, _Kiri … Kiri! Are you alright?_ Finally, she responded quietly, _Yes, I'm fine._ Riku pulled away slightly and lifted my chin between his thumb and forefinger, "Hika? Is something wrong?" Giving him a weak smile, I shook my head, "No. Kiri is just a little out of it right now, I guess. Considering what just happened, I suppose it's understandable." Riku's brow furrowed, "Lea … is he…?" I felt my smile fall at the edges and nodded.

I finally looked around us; everyone was on the ground, still unable to move because of what Hikari had done to them. Seeing them all like that and knowing that they were all now infected made my heart feel like it was being weighed down by heavy chains. Now everyone was in pain, and it was because Hikari was after me, but they were in her way. "Riku," I started, but something stopped me. I could feel a lump at the back of my throat and my eyes start to sting. _No,_ I hid my face from him, _I won't cry anymore._ Sora and the others began to stir, finally regaining consciousness.

Riku wrapped his arms around me again and pressed his lips against the top of my head. I closed my eyes, desperately holding back the tears, and slid my hands to his upper back, "What are we going to do? We know how we were able to stop the Soul Eaters here, but what about the other worlds? I don't want to have to put Kiri through that again."

I heard Sora clear his throat, obviously uncomfortable. I pulled away from Riku, my cheeks heating up, "Uh … S-sorry." Riku simply chuckled, "I guess you're alright?" Sora smiled that dopey-looking grin of his and nodded. Still, I couldn't manage to smile back at him. "Hika," Mickey came to Riku's side, "did you already … I mean, while we were out, did you…?" I nodded, "He's gone." Vincent stood from where he was sitting near one of the hedges, "It looks like it worked. The Soul Eaters are gone." "But," Riku interjected, deep in thought, "what about the queen?"

"What indeed!" the Cheshire's voice echoed through the air. Vincent groaned, "Not now." The cat's head appeared just inches in front of Riku's. He jumped slightly and quirked an eyebrow. Sora crossed his arms, "You said we'd be able to unlock the queen!" Cheshire's head did something like a flip, and his body suddenly appeared beneath his head in a position that made it look like he was lying down, propping his head up on his paws, "Did I? Hm … oh well." Sora's head fell, "Not this again." "What are we supposed to do?" Vincent growled.

"Did you listen to what the darkness said?" the Cheshire grinned, flipping upside down. Riku stepped forward, "The darkness?" Kiri finally spoke up, _Hikari._ I nodded to the cat, "I listened. She said that we needed to destroy Lea in order to get rid of the Soul Eaters and free the queen. We did that, but now where is the queen?" "What she told you would have worked if all of the Soul Eaters had left this world, but two still remain," the Cheshire hinted, "so, I wonder what could still be holding the queen."

He suddenly disappeared, his laugh echoing as he did, "Did you know that if a Soul has something they still need to do, they won't move on?" For a second, everyone stood silently, as if waiting for the Cheshire to say something else. But, while they waited, I thought about what he had said. _So, maybe if I leave the queen will be fine. But, he said that there are two Soul Eaters left. There must be a Soul that still has something it needs to do. Was it Yui or Nel? Nel didn't say anything about that … So, Yui? But, what was it? Maybe I could … _I tried to find Yui by calling out to him, _Yui? Are you there?_

_Mama?! Where is everyone?! I can't find Nel! Mama! What do I do?_ Yui whimpered. _Calm down,_ I tried to send out the most soothing feelings I could to little Yui, _where are you?_ I could feel how desperate and scared he was as he sobbed, _I don't know!_ Suddenly, his shrill cry rang through the air, _I'm scared!_

"What the?" Vincent looked around, "What is this?" "Yui … he's afraid." I explained. "So, Yui is the one that's still here?" Riku looked down at me and I nodded to him. "Then," Mickey started to look around as if trying to find the direction the cries were coming from, "I guess we should start looking for him." "Psh!" Sora got a cocky look on his face, "That'll be easy. We just gotta follow that sound and we'll find Yui in no time!" I rolled my eyes, "It won't be that easy." "Who said it wouldn't? It's just one Soul Eater." "Just one Soul Eater my butt!" I glared at Sora, "Yui could be anywhere!" "No worries!" Sora struck something like a victory pose, holding up his left hand in peace sign, "I'll find him in seconds!" I knocked his hand down, "Like **hell** you will!"

Everything fell quiet suddenly before Riku smiled and quirked an eyebrow at me, "Did you just say what I think you said?" I froze, _what? What did I say?_ Kiri giggled, _Aw, you're first cuss word._ I could feel my cheeks heat up as I began to panic, "Oh, no! I-I didn't mean to say that!" Sora gasped, pointing at me, "You potty mouth!" "N-no! Really, I didn't mean to!" I tried to explain, waving my hands in the air. Mickey chuckled, but Vincent simply rolled his eyes.

Riku patted the top of my head, sighing, "I'm so disappointed." It was obvious he was only teasing, but I still couldn't keep myself from pouting slightly as I looked up at him. Riku laughed, smiling at me gently, "It's alright, we were only teasing you." I could feel my blush deepen as I looked down to the ground, trying to hide my embarrassment, "It's not funny." "You're really something, you know that?" He said tenderly, wrapping his arms around me. Vincent cleared his throat, "Shouldn't we be looking for that creature?" Riku suddenly pulled away, his cheeks dusting over with a light pink as he shuffled around nervously, "R-right."

"We should probably split up." Vincent started walking to the room with the giant furniture. The others nodded and started to set off in separate directions. Suddenly Yui's crying got closer and he came rushing from Vincent's direction in a panic, running straight into Vincent's legs and falling to the ground. Yui stopped sobbing, only to look up with wide gold eyes at Vincent. I giggled as he got up and clung to Vincent's leg, crying, _help me!_ He patted the tiny creature's head, "It'll be alright." Sora smiled; resting the back of his head on his hands as he leaned back slightly, "Isn't that cute." Vincent turned to Sora and glared as Mickey giggled and Riku chuckled at Sora's comment. I, on the other hand, was distracted. When Yui ran in, I'd braced myself for the same pain that I felt from Kiri every time she saw a suffering Soul Eater. But, once again, it was like a wall was between us.

I reached out to her, trying to see what exactly was wrong, _Kiri, are you okay?_ When she answered, her voice was distant, _I'm fine, why?_ Shrugging I turned my attention back to Yui, figuring that maybe Kiri had finally gotten control of her emotions, "Yui, are you alright?" Little Yui looked at me as though he just realized that I was there and started to run toward Riku and me, _Mama! Daddy!_ Surprisingly enough, Yui jumped up and hugged Riku. For a second, Riku looked shocked, but he gently hugged Yui back, "Are you alright?" _I'm scared,_ Yui sniffled, _where is Nel? What about the others?_

Yui tightened his grip around Riku, causing him to quirk an eyebrow at me and whisper, "I don't mind, but why is Yui clinging to me like this?" I looked away, blushing, "They … they've been calling you daddy." Looking shocked, he asked, "That's why?" I looked away, a little embarrassed, "Y-yeah." He smiled happily at me before glancing down at Yui, "Well, is there any way I can make my son smile?" Yui simply looked up at Riku and let out a small, bell-like giggle even as the tears ran down his cheeks.

I grinned as a lighthearted feeling spread through me and I knelt down next to Yui, "Is there some reason you didn't go with the others? Maybe because you have something you still need to do?" He finally let go of Riku and turned to me, looking confused, _was I supposed to go, Mama?_ I touched his cheek, shaking my head, "No, on second thought, never mind that. Was there something you wanted to do?" Yui tilted his head and thought for a second before answering,_ I wanna find brother._ "You mean Fai?" I asked. He nodded slowly in response. I looked up at Riku and saw that, for some reason, it looked like he was trying to hold back a smile. He looked at the others, so I turned my attention to them.

They were all staring at me with questioning faces and Sora was tapping his foot on the ground impatiently, "What are you talking about? You know we can't hear what the Soul Eater is saying." I sighed and stood up, taking Yui's skinny hand in mine, "He wants to find his brother, Fai." Vincent looked thoughtful for a moment, "Aren't all the Soul Eaters gone?" Riku shook his head, taking Yui's other hand into his, "No. Hikari took the ones that she infected with her. Which means," he glanced down at Yui, "you can come with us, if you want." Yui started jumping up and down excitedly, _Really?!_

I laughed, "Of course you can come." Mickey giggled, pointing into the sky just as the loud sounds of the ship's engine filled the air, "Just on time!"

When we all boarded the ship, Kairi and the others stared at us strangely. Donald exploded, squawking loudly, "What is that thing, why is it here?" Yui looked as if he was about to cry and I admit … I was a little more than annoyed, "He is **not** a **thing!** His name is Yui, he's looking for his brother, and he **is** coming with us!" Donald backed up, dumbfounded. Kairi giggled, shrugging, "Well, obviously there isn't anything we can do about that." I nodded and smiled before Riku and I explained everything that had happened in Wonderland.

Kairi started walking off the ship, "You guys can go, I'll stay behind and make sure the last two Soul Eaters leaving actually works." Sora followed her and, just before she stepped off the ship, he looked around a little, blushing, and gave her a quick kiss. She left the ship smiling, her cheeks turning completely red. Then, we set off to look for the next world.

Riku and I sat in one of the small rooms in the ship, looking out the small circular window. It was a small room, with just that one window at the back and two beds on the sides. I sat on one bed and Riku sat across from me on the other. Mickey and Vincent were in the control room, while Chip and Dale were in the engine room. Yui was in the other bedroom, playing with Sora … what they were playing, I have no idea.

Riku began to softly caress my knee with his fingertips. I smiled at him and shyly touched the back of his hand. He chuckled suddenly and I tilted my head, "W-what?" He shook his head and looked me in the eyes with so much wonder that my cheeks began to heat up, I looked down, hiding my face, "What is it?" His hand lifted from my knee to cup my cheek, making me look back up at him, "You're getting pretty protective of our children, aren't you?" My jaw dropped and my face got even hotter, "N-no, I just-"

Suddenly, he quickly moved forward, pressing his lips to mine. Immediately, I reacted, tracing his lower lip with my tongue. He parted his lips slightly, but pulled back, as if teasing me, "You know you are." "Are what?" I questioned, completely dazed. He smiled knowingly, "Getting protective of our children." I smiled and giggled, "The Soul Eaters? **Our** children?" He chuckled playfully, and leaned in for another kiss, "That's right, ours."

But, his lips never touched mine, because something in the window caught my eye. It was a small world, its tall buildings looking devastated and ravaged. Riku looked out the window as well, just before calling out to Mickey and Vincent, "King, Vincent! Have you ever seen this world before?" Vincent walked into the room, "The king is piloting the ship, so he sent me in to see what you were talking about." I pointed out the window and he took look. His eyes widened and he jerked back slightly, "I thought she destroyed it." Riku and I shifted our eyes to him.

He answered our silent question so quietly that it was practically a whisper, "Midgar."


	15. Chapter 13: Time for Answers

**Ch. 13**

_**Time for Answers**_

I stared at Vincent, completely baffled, "Midgar?" Riku kept staring out the window, "Is that your home?" Vincent answered with a simple nod before heading out the door, "We have to land." I stood, "Why? I thought we were going to head back to Radiant Gardens." He only looked over his shoulder for a second, "Hikari destroyed that world a year ago … I need to know why it's still there." Riku and I followed close behind as he made his way to the control room.

By the time we actually landed on Midgar Vincent had gone totally silent. Sora stood next to Mickey at the ships door, ready to go whenever Vincent was. He had been reloading his gun and getting ready for whatever was out there before he walked off the ship and Sora and Mickey followed after him.

I started to follow Riku out of the ship, but he stopped me. He smiled at me and raised an eyebrow, "You aren't going. You are staying here with Yui." My jaw dropped, "Why?!" He kissed my forehead and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, "It's too dangerous. We know that Hikari is after you and that she is infecting some of the Soul Eaters so that they'll come after you, too." I grabbed his hand, preventing him from leaving, "But-" Gently pulling his hand out of mine, he pressed his index finger against my lips, capturing my gaze with his, "No buts. You're staying because I love you and I want you to be safe."

Then, he gave me a quick kiss and walked off. I frowned as I stared at the ship's door, "Well, this is going to be boring." Kiri giggled, _That's not necessarily true._ I went to the room that Riku and I had been in earlier and laid on one of the beds. Yui crawled onto the bed next to me and cuddled about as close to me as he possibly could, _Mama … Where's Daddy?_ I smiled at him, "He's trying to help a friend figure something out, that's all." He tilted his head slightly, _Why didn't we go?_

"It's dangerous," I replied, "he's trying to keep us safe." Then, satisfied with my answer, Yui closed his eyes and went to sleep. I sighed and was about ready to fall asleep myself, but something crossed my mind, "Hey … Kiri?"

_Yeah, _she replied, _what is it?_ "Now that we have a chance … I was wondering," I paused, unsure about how she would react, "could I ask you a little bit about your past?" _Sure, why not_, she answered, her voice sounding strangely distant. "Wait," my brow furrowed, "so you do remember?" I could feel Kiri shift nervously inside me, _Yes, my memories have been slowly returning to me. But, I still don't remember everything._

"Well, alright then." I started with a sigh, "So, you said that you first woke up because of something that happened in Radiant Gardens?" _Yes,_ she replied, sounding somewhat bored. "Then," I continued, my mind starting to wander, "later on a group of scientists sealed you away again, saying that you were in the way of their experiments on the darkness in people's hearts. Sora was the vessel you were sealed in?" _Yes_, she answered, _your point?_

"Well," I stared at the ceiling, "when you were in Sora … did he know? I mean, was he just as aware of you as I am now?" _Nope,_ she answered, _he had no idea. We didn't have the same connection as you and I do. See, you were created because my memories were suppressed, so, if you look at it like that, we could actually be considered two halves of the same soul._

"So I guess that explains how two souls can survive in one body."

_What do you mean?_

"Well, I was just wondering how two different souls could possibly inhabit one body. But, with the way you put it, it makes sense. We technically aren't two different souls."

I could feel her smile at me, _that's right._ "Anyways," I continued, "after that you said that someone had tempered with Sora's memory and released you by accident?" She let out something like a mental sigh, _yes, then Hikari tried to get some information out of me and Lea's nobody, Axel, but couldn't. So then, she ditched me on the islands, suppressing my memories when she did._ I suddenly remember the black cloak that the others had mentioned before, "What about that black cloak? That's yours, right? So, where did you get it?" She seemed to be letting her mind wander as she answered me, _the organization that Axel was a part of. He and Zexion, Ienzo's nobody, gave it to me, saying that if I was going to stay anyways, it would help make me feel more at home._

_Now,_ she said teasingly, _that's enough questions from you. It's my turn._ I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, "Shoot." _What is with this strange fear of rodents you have?_ "Well, I don't really know. It's just that …" I shivered, "I can't stand even the thought of one of those creepy little things touching me!" She tried to stifle a laugh, but failed, _that's all?_ "Well," I interrupted her laughter, a little embarrassed, "any other questions?" She smiled happily at me, _yeah, actually. How did you get used to the king and Chip and Dale?_

"Hm," I thought, not really sure how myself, "that started with Mickey. I saw how much Riku trusted him, so I figured that if he trusted the king, then why shouldn't I? Then, I guess I just eventually accepted that the king and those two are sort of a package deal."

After that, I just layed there, listening to Yui's steady breathing. Yup … boring already. I shifted around a bit, trying to get more comfortable, "I wonder how Riku is doing."

**Meanwhile…**

Riku's head reeled back just before he let out a big sneeze. He stared at Sora, who was standing next to Donald and Goofy. "What are you doing?" Sora asked, taking the map, which Vincent had kept in his pocket, from Goofy, "It's upside down!"

"No," Donald squawked, infuriated, "your brain is." Sora glared at Donald, "No it's not!" Then, Riku took the map, "It looks like we should go north." So, Sora started walking, "Alright! Let's go!" But the others didn't move. "Hey!" he looked over his shoulder, "Stop wasting time; let's go!"

"Sora," Vincent stopped him. Sora tilted his head, "What?"

"That's east."

**Back on the ship…**

_Eh_, Kiri assured me, _they'll be fine. They've all got pretty good sense of direction, right?_ I shrugged, "Sure, I guess."

"Hey, Kiri?" I wondered aloud. _Hm?_ she replied, sounding like she was about to fall asleep, although I'm not sure if she was able to sleep unless I did. I frowned, feeling the sleep tugging at the edge of my mind as well, "I was wondering, in that first memory that came to me, why did Axel call out Hikari's name?" She gave a small, mental shrug, _he remembered the way he felt about me when he was Lea, and then, trying to distract Hikari and save me, he called out to her … that's all._

I barely opened my eyes, peeking out the window from the bed, "Hm." Kiri was now barely awake, _What is it?_ "Well," I started, "Vincent said that Midgar had been destroyed by Hikari, right?"

_Mm-hm._

"Then why is it back?"

_Hikari brought it back … from my memories._

"What?" I sat up suddenly, "She can do that?" _Yeah,_ she answered groggily, _she's doing this to prove that she can pull more from my past than just one person._ "She can take worlds from your memories?" I calmed down slightly, but now I was unable to sleep, "But, that mean's you've been here before right?"

She gave a mental nod, _this is where that first memory you saw took place._ "So, this is where you and Axel were … you know, tortured?"

Another mental nod, but this time she moaned slightly, _can't you just go to sleep, I'm tired._ So, it wasn't me that was actually tired, it was her. Well, we do share the same body, so if one of us is doing something that is physically or mentally tiring, it's only reasonable for both of us to get sleepy, but ... what was she doing that was so exhausting? I didn't bother asking; with all that was happening she was probably more strained than me. So, I asked a different question, "You really can't sleep unless I do?" _No, just like I can't get any food unless you do,_ she answered,_ you are the primary owner of this body now. You have been ever since you washed up on the islands._ I layed back carefully, surprised that Yui was still asleep, "Alright, I'll try to go to sleep."

That was easier said than done. I still had so many questions spinning through my head; I had to keep reminding myself that it was all tied together by what I am … what we are. But, it all seemed so random. I could speak to Soul Eaters through thought, I could make such a huge sword with the conductor, and I could even resist Hikari's control. None of it seemed connected in anyway. Then there are the things that had happened to Kiri before I was even created. One thing in particular about that bothered me. They blamed her for not being able to continue with their experiments … but, what about her blocked them? Was that because of what we are, too?

I asked one more question before I allowed myself to sleep, "Why were you blocking Xehenort's experiments? What was it about you that got in their way?" I was to close to sleep to even hear her answer, but I did notice how she shifted around nervously, as if she were afraid of something.

I woke up the next morning, completely dazed, "What?" Yui was kneeling over me, _Mama, Daddy isn't home yet._ I chuckled a little and sat up, stretching as I did, "Well, it might take a while." Yui pouted, _but I want to see him._ Kiri giggled a little bit, _you'll just have to wait a bit longer._

"Well, now what?" I wondered aloud, patting Yui on the head, "What do you want to do?" Yui thought for a second before answering, _can we play outside?_ "I don't know. That might not be such a good idea." _Yeah, _Kiri joined in, _we don't know how many infected Soul Eaters are out there._

_But,_ Yui stood and went to the door, _Daddy's out there keeping us safe, right? That means it's okay, doesn't it?_ I sighed, "I guess." _C'mon! Let's go,_ Kiri pleaded, _It should be fine, we'll stay near the ship and wait for the others to return._ "Whose side are you on?" I laughed, rolling my eyes. _That's easy,_ she replied, _I'm on the side that's winning, of course._

I stood up, following Yui out of the room, "How do you know Yui's winning?" _Because you're following him,_ she answered happily. I sighed as we stepped off the ship, "Fine, we can stay out here for a while. But, if Riku and the others don't come back within the next few hours, we go back inside."

**Meanwhile…**

Riku let out another loud sneeze, causing Mickey to look at him with concern, "Are you getting a cold?" "No, I'm fine. Are you sure we should be heading back to the ship?" Riku asked, "We didn't even get he answers we came out here to look for." Vincent looked over his shoulder at the others, "We might not be able to find that out for a while."

Sora stretched, yawning as he did, "At least now we know that the Soul Eaters Hikari infected are here. Now, we might be able to get Yui's brother back." "Are you sure we're headed in the right direction this time?" Donald asked, tapping his foot.

Sora suddenly stopped and slowly looked over his shoulder, smiling awkwardly, "Well, um … I'm pretty sure." The others moaned and rolled their eyes.

**Back at the ship…**

"I hope they get back safely." I sighed as I watched Yui run around, chasing a small blue butterfly. It was adorable, but the scene seemed so out of place in a devastated world like this. Kiri giggled, _I'm sure they'll be back in no time!_

NOTE: Next week I will not be able to update this because I will be on a school trip in Charleston, South Carolina.


	16. Chapter 14: Rendezvous

**Ch. 14**

_**Rendezvous**_

"Kiri, it's been two hours."

_I know._

"Where are they?"

_No idea._

I moaned as I leaned back against the base of the ship, only to see Yui hovering above me, "AAH!" I jumped up. I wasn't surprised to see him so suddenly, but I was surprised to see him **literally** **floating** above me. Staring at him and waving my hand beneath him, I asked, "How are you doing that?" Yui jumped down on to the ground, smiling proudly, "I learned how to from my brother! Do you want to learn?" _Why not, _Kiri encouraged me, _it'll help pass the time._ I smiled and nodded.

_Alright_, Yui stood up straight as if he were a teacher, _class is in session!_ My smile widened, "Okay!" He put a hand on his chest, _all Soul Eaters have a bright, warm light inside them, even if you have to dig deep to find it, _he paused and winked, _it won't be that way for you, your light is right on the surface._ I giggled, "Thank you!"

Yui gave me a confused look, _what?_ I shook my head, "Nothing, continue." Yui nodded, _so, all you have to do is take a small amount of that light and direct it toward the soles of your feet. Then…_ he held his tiny hands in the air as he started to slightly hover above the ground, _you can also do the same thing to walk on stuff, like this._ He casually walked over to the ship and up the side of it, grinning happily, _See? You can do it too, Mama!_ I grinned and did as I was told, closing my eyes to help me concentrate. It was a little difficult, but I managed to feel the warmth of the light inside of me that Yui talked about. I allowed some of it to drop from my chest, down to the soles of my feet, causing me to feel a little light headed.

_Yay, _Yui's happy voice rang through my head, _you're doing it, Mama!_ I opened my eyes and looked down. I was floating, even if just a little, but I was struggling to keep hold of my light, and it suddenly slipped away. I fell to the ground hard, sending a small jolt of pain from my feet all the way up my legs. I let out a small moan, but Kiri just giggled a little.

Yui panicked, _Mama! Mama, are you okay? Oh, no!_ Yui looked like he was going to cry as he ran over to me. I giggled, a little embarrassed, "I'm fine, just lost my light for a second. I guess I just need more practice." For a moment, he looked thoughtful, _maybe … you just need to think of the person that your light is brightest around._ I tilted my head questioningly, "What do you mean?" _Well,_ _I don't know how to explain it, Mama_.

Kiri spoke up, _maybe I could help._ I inhaled deeply and nodded, "Alright, what should I do?" _Do what you did before,_ she told me, _let me know when you have your light._ I closed my eyes again and concentrated. When that same warm feeling spread through me, I took hold of it firmly, "Okay, I have it." She smiled, _now, don't let it go. Spread it down to your feet. _I obeyed, my body feeling light again as it lifted off the ground. She continued, _think of the person that makes that light brighter … who really makes it shine? Keep them in your mind, close to your heart._ I still didn't understand exactly, but I felt my cheeks heat up when Riku came to my mind. She giggled a little bit, _how did I know you'd picture him?_

My blush deepened, "S-shut up!" _Concentrate,_ she said in a teasing, sing-song voice, _you'll never get it right if you don't concentrate._ I ignored her this time and focused on my light … on Riku. Slowly and carefully, I opened my eyes and stepped forward, walking up the side of the ship. I got half way up it and stopped, looking over my shoulder at Yui, who smiled and clapped as he jumped up and down, giggling wildly.

"H-hika?"

My eyes shot up to where Riku's voice was coming from. He was standing beside a broken fountain that we'd landed the ship next to. Vincent was right behind him, quirking his eyebrow slightly. My grin widened, "Riku!" Riku looked shocked, but his expression softened, "What are you doing?" I jumped down, gradually letting the light that was concentrated in the bottoms of my feet go back up to my chest, causing me to slowly float down. He walked to the bottom of the ship and caught me in his arms, "What was that?"

I smiled up at him, happy that he was back, "I don't know what to call it, but you focus your light at the soles of your feet and you start floating!" I grabbed his hands and his smile grew. "You have to try it!" I said excitedly, "It feels absolutely amazing." He chuckled, "Alright, just show me how." I nodded, but Yui grabbed the fabric of my shirt, _only Soul Eaters can do it._ My smile fell and, knowing Riku couldn't hear Yui, relayed the message to him, "I can't. Apparently only Soul Eaters can do it."

"Hey," he lifted his hand from mine and stroked my cheek tenderly, "it's alright. You'll just have to tell me about it later." I nodded, the grin returning to my face. But then, when I looked back at the fountain, where Vincent was now sitting, none of the others were there, "Riku, where are they?" He opened his mouth answer me, but stopped when Yui tugged on his pants. Yui pouted as he held his arms up to Riku. He chuckled a bit, but bent down and picked Yui up, holding him as if he were a small three year old. Yui wrapped his arms around Riku's neck and giggled wildly as he bounced him on his hip. Kiri laughed a little, _aw! That's so cute!_

Yui started to play with Riku's hair, but Riku continued talking anyways, "We're supposed to rendezvous with them at … uh." He turned to Vincent, who got up and walked over to us calmly, "The Shinra building."

Moments later, Vincent was guiding us past broken down buildings to what he called the Shinra Electric Company. Riku was walking beside me, playing with Yui, and Vincent was walking on my other side, only a step or two ahead of us. I looked around at the damaged buildings and broken street lights, "Was it always like this?" "No," he answered sullenly, barely glancing over his shoulder at me, "it used to be a thriving city … before Hikari got here." Just as he finished his sentence, something caught my eye.

I slowed to a stop and walked over to a collapsed house. It must have once been the home of a wonderful family, but now it was nothing but rubble. Half of a blood-stained teddy bear poked out from underneath the rubble and beside it was a tattered photo with a few drops of dried blood on it. _Hika_, Kiri gave me a mental nudge, sounding a little nervous, _we should go._ "No," I answered aloud, "I want to see who used to live here." So, I bent over and picked up the picture. A smiling mother with short black hair held her tiny newborn baby. Standing next to her was her tall, brown haired husband, playing with their older daughter. My eyes froze on their daughter. She was small, only coming up to her father's waist. Her hair was long and jet black and her eyes … her eyes were the same haunting green as Hikari's. It **was** Hikari.

My hand shook and my mind raced. Why was Hikari in this picture? She looked so different, so happy. How could- "Hika?" Riku's hand lightly touched my shoulder, pulling me out of my reverie, "Is something wrong?" I crumbled the picture in my hands, shoved it in my pocket, and looked up at him, "Well, I guess I just …" I glanced down at the teddy bear, not exactly sure why I was hiding the picture from him. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, kissing my cheek as he did, and whispered, "It'll be okay. We will stop her so that nothing like this ever happens again."

I nodded and he helped me back up to my feet. Vincent was waiting patiently near one of the buildings, staring at Yui, who was playing with his red cape. We rushed over to join them and started walking again. I kept waiting for Kiri to say something, to ask me why I was hiding the picture from Riku, but she stayed quiet. Her silence confused me, but I was still grateful. The fact that she wasn't saying anything meant that I might be wrong about who that little girl was, so there was no need to worry Riku and the others over it.

After a few hours of walking through the city I turned to Riku, "Um, Riku?" He chuckled as Yui ran ahead and grabbed Vincent's hand, "Yeah?" I intertwined my fingers with his, "Why did you name your dog Makodo?" He smiled gently and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, "Well, Makodo is a word used on the islands that means truth. When I saw him, for some reason he reminded me of the truth about what I did in the past." Suddenly, his smile seemed more sad than gentle. I squeezed his hand slightly, trying to be as reassuring as possible, "Riku … There is nothing in your past that you should regret. You saved your friends and helped stop a man that wanted to cloak the world in darkness." He turned his head to face me and, for a moment, he looked shocked, but his expression softened and he smiled at me gratefully.

But, that's when I started looking around a little bit more, finally noticing that I'd subconsciously expected Makodo to be on the ship, "Riku? Where **is** Makodo anyways?" He laughed a little, "You're just now noticing that he's gone?" I pouted a little bit and turned my head away, though I couldn't keep a straight face and started laughing almost immediately. He started swinging our hands a little bit as we walked, "Well, the day we left the islands, when you were …" he paused for a moment, a sad expression on his face as our hands slowly stopped swinging, "when you were dying, the King said that it would be best for Makodo to stay behind and protect Destiny Islands."

Kiri giggled, _you really didn't notice it for that long? _"Shut up," I told her aloud, "I thought he was somewhere on the ship the whole time." When I looked back at Riku he quirked an eyebrow, "You're talking to Kiri, right?" I smiled and rolled my eyes a little, "Yeah, she was just teasing me." He nudged my arm, "Can she hear me?" I nodded slowly, not exactly sure where he was going with this. While still walking, he leaned toward me slightly, "Hey, Kiri. Are you listening?"

She perked up slightly, _yeah, what is it?_ I grinned, "She's listening." He chuckled, leaning in close enough that his shoulder was brushing against mine as he whispered, "You should take it easy on Hika, she has a hard enough time with Sora." Kiri giggled and I couldn't stop myself from laughing a little bit as I playfully pushed him away with my shoulder.

Suddenly, there was a piercing screech in the distance. Out of reflex, I grabbed my ears in an attempt to block out the noise. Riku and the others did the same. Yui retreated behind me, _Mama! What is that? Make it stop!_ I gave Riku a meaningful look and he nodded, running ahead to see what was happening.

Moments later, the sound stopped. Vincent glanced questioningly over his shoulder at me and I simply shrugged. Now what? As though on cue, Vincent turned to me and Yui, who was now clinging to my leg. He pulled out his gun, "We should get going. He may need some help." I nodded and pulled out my gun as well, "Alright. Yui, stay behind me." Yui nodded, _Okay._

As we continued on, I kept my gun at the ready, but couldn't keep my mind from wondering and trying to find distractions, "Vincent? How did you and Mickey meet?" He didn't even lower his gun, but his steps did slow down, "He found me in the Hall of the Cornerstone." My brow furrowed a bit, "How did you get from here to there?" He peeked around one of the nearby buildings, "When this world was destroyed the Soul Eaters saw fit to save me. When they did, they took me to his castle."

He continued walking and I followed closely behind, "So, why did they save you?" He spared only a small glance at me, "I don't know." As he pressed on I was left with even more questions and not nearly enough patience to deal with them. I was feeling on edge and my heart wouldn't stop pounding. What if something had already happened to the others? But, I didn't have to think about that for very long.

"Hika?"

My eyes followed the sound of Riku's voice and I grinned as soon as I saw him. He was standing next to Sora and Mickey at the rusted entrance of what seemed to be an abandoned factory. Vincent started walking to Mickey's side, his gun still ready in his hands. Riku smiled at me, but something about him wasn't right. He seemed uneasy, and that feeling spread from him to me, planting itself deep in the pit of my stomach. Still, I ran to him, forgetting the anxious feeling churning inside me. I shouldn't have ignored it.

Within seconds Riku's expression became horrified, his voice coming out as nothing but a whisper at first, but growing into a loud, desperate shout, "Hika … Hika, NO!" Following his gaze, I turned to see what had struck him with such terror, only to be met by Hikari's piercing green eyes.

Then, an intense, fiery pain erupted in my stomach as she plunged a thick, jagged black sword into me.


	17. Chapter 15: The Truth Kills

**Ch. 15**

_**The Truth Kills**_

Hikari's black, serrated sword ripped through my stomach, making me drop my gun. Out of sheer reflex my hands whipped up and wrapped around the blade, as if trying to stop it from going any further. She twisted the sword slightly, cutting deeper into my stomach and slicing my fingers, but all I could manage was a small grunt as the pain set my nerves on fire. Doubling over, I saw the others getting out their weapons and Vincent, who already had his gun out, shoot at Hikari.

She giggled and held her hand up, as if it could stop his bullet, "That won't do." Just like that, the bullet stopped an inch from her palm and a crooked smile spread across her face as she spoke sweetly, like an innocent child, "Play nice or I might just have to kill you." Then, she barely thrust her hand forward and the bullet was sent right back to Vincent, who was barely able to block it with the gold armor on his arm.

Meanwhile, I couldn't even move. Something felt like it was trying to get out of the sword and spread through my veins, but Kiri was frantically trying to stop it, _never mind this! Focus!_ I nodded, and looked back up at Hikari, who grinned happily up at me, "So you noticed? My darkness is trying to make its way into you, but something isn't letting it in." I moved to push her away, but she just laughed and pushed the sword further, making it go all the way through me and sending another wave of pain through my body. My head reared back as the agony seared my nerves, the warm blood dripping from the wound as I screamed.

Riku ran forward, his face twisted with anger, and Hikari raised her hand to the sky. Dark clouds burst from her fingers and formed a huge dome around us, trying to prevent Riku from getting in. Still, he barely made it through. Hikari grimaced as the clouds of darkness receded, leaving a transparent shield behind. Her brow furrowed, "That's not fair." Turning to me, she leaned down slightly and grabbed my gun from the ground, "Mind if I borrow this?" –she moved the sword, making the pain flare again- "Didn't think so." Riku was still rushing toward Hikari, his keyblade ready to come down on her. She quickly raised the gun … and pulled the trigger.

It felt like everything slowed down, like I couldn't breathe as the bullet imbedded itself in his shoulder, sending him backward slightly. Again, she squeezed the trigger. Another bullet shot into him, this one in his leg. He crumbled to the ground and dropped his blade as a pained moan parted his lips. Without even thinking, I tried to go to him, "Riku!" But, she backed me up further, pressing me against her force field. By now, I was numb, only able to feel a strange tingling sensation in my stomach and a dizzy feeling in my head. I clutched the sword in my hands again and glared at her, feeling weaker by the second, "Leave. Him. Alone."

Laughing quietly, she turned back to me, throwing the gun over her shoulder, "Now, now, I didn't come for him anyways. I came to tell you something." She leaned in next to my ear, "I came to remind Kiri that, if she can't keep me entertained, I **will **kill you." Her smile fell in a sudden, terrifying scowl that didn't fit her child-like face at all, "And this game you're playing, Kiri … is starting to bore me."

I tried to say something, to object and stop the horrified feeling spreading through Kiri, but the blood that had gushed into my stomach suddenly forced its way up my throat and out of my mouth. I choked and coughed painfully as the scarlet liquid trickled down my chin. Suddenly, her smile returned, looking twice as wicked and petrifying as she laughed crazily, "Your blood is so pretty, why not make more?!" She started jerking the blade around wildly. The sword ravaged the edges of my already jagged wound, shooting jolts of pain everywhere. Screaming, I doubled over. I could just barely hear Riku over my shrill cries as he shouted desperately, "Stop!"

All of a sudden, she stopped and sighed, "Oh well. I didn't come here to break my toy anyways." She pulled the sword out, sending one last wave of torture through my stomach. I moaned and coughed as I crumbled to the ground. She sniggered, smiling happily, "I also came here to make this game more entertaining. I'm here to tell you the truth that Kiri refuses to tell you."

Stunned, my mind went void. Kiri scrambled suddenly, as if desperate to hide something, _No! Don't listen to her, Hika! Please!_ But I ignored Kiri. Hikari chuckled wickedly, "She's lying to you. She says she doesn't remember certain things? Wrong. She remembers everything, including what you two are. She's just too chicken to tell you. So, I will." _No,_ Kiri continued to plead. But her begging fell on deaf ears.

"Why do you think you can resist my control when I've already infected you?" she hinted, an insane look glazing over her eyes, "Why do you think the Soul Eaters, which are nothing but shards of light left over from heartless and nobodies, seek you out and do everything you tell them to? Why do they call you 'Mama'? Better yet, why do you think Kiri blocked Xehenort's experiments into the **darkness**?" I stared at her blankly and she grimaced in frustration, "Fine. If you can't put two and two together, I'll tell you."

She cupped my cheek in her hand and leaned closer to my ear, "I should have been more specific when I said that I was the Soul Eater's opposite … I'm not necessarily their opposite … I'm yours. I'm the true darkness. Which means," she chuckled, putting her lips right next to my ear and whispering, "you are the true light."

With that, I could feel the wall that had formed between Kiri and me crumble. A wave of emotion came from her; pain, despair, and devastation. My eyes widened and a lump formed in my throat, but I held the tears back. That wasn't good enough for Hikari, because she continued, with a huge, warped grin on her face, "You know, **because** you are the true light you are the only one that can release the restless souls that have been turned into Soul Eaters. No matter how hard the others fight, they are useless. Every Soul Eater they put to rest will come back time and time again." She paused to giggle like a child that had found a new way to use her toy, "But, there is something **you** can do. You have three options …" her voice lowered further, forcing me to strain to hear her.

My breath caught in my throat when she told me the three options and my heart wouldn't calm down, even as I attempted to build up the courage to at least try to stand up and fight her. Even after I did, that wasn't the issue. I wasn't lacking courage, I was just too exhausted. I didn't have the strength left in me, and I couldn't possibly choose between those three options … I couldn't.

She stood and chuckled, "But, I'm tired of focusing on you. What about me?" She spun around as if showing off, "Haven't I gotten better at controlling my darkness through this awkward little body? It's so small it can barely contain me!" Like so many times before, I could feel Kiri move around nervously inside me. I ignored it, too upset and angry to care anymore. Lifting my head with what little strength was left in me; I choked out, "What?"

Hikari giggled, "Something else she hasn't told you?" I clenched my teeth, "Kiri?" She stayed silent, but Hikari burst into a mad fit of laughter, "That's rich! Ha! You're an even bigger liar than I would have thought, Kiri!" I tried to move again, to shut her up, but I couldn't. Hikari turned to me, "Well, I'll have to be leaving now, but first," she laughed insanely again, "Your blood is such a beautiful red; I want to see even more of it!"

As she lifted her blade I went into a panic, _no! If something happens to me, she'll kill Riku, too!_ I frantically looked to Riku, but … he wasn't lying on the ground anymore. I couldn't tell where he was, and I didn't have long to figure out. Hikari's blade was coming down on me … **fast**.

Out of sheer reflex, my eyes snapped shut and I braced myself for the pain. But, the agony never came. Instead, a loud sound rang through the air. The sound of a gun. The next thing I new, I opened my eyes to see Hikari's chest in a bloody mess. She looked over her shoulder with a blank expression before turning around completely, "Now that wasn't very nice."

I tried to move while she was distracted, to see what exactly had happened, but with how weak I was that only caused me to fall onto my side and into a pool of my own blood. Still, I saw what Hikari was looking at. Riku was standing behind her, struggling to even breathe and covered in the blood that had escaped through the wounds Hikari had given him. And in his hand was my gun, a small wisp of smoke floating up from the barrel. He glared at Hikari as he cocked the gun, "If you take … another step toward her … I **will** shoot."

She smiled and, as if to challenge him, took a step back toward me. He aimed the gun again, "Don't push me." She cackled cruelly, "Go ahead and shoot. This body has been dead for about a year now. In fact, the only thing keeping it from decaying is my darkness." "What do you mean?" Riku demanded in a slightly shaky voice. Kiri started to shrink back into the corner of my mind, like she was trying to separate herself from me the way she had before.

Hikari scoffed, directing her attention to me again, "Kiri, you've really dug yourself in deep, haven't you?" Then she faced Riku, "One year ago this world was destroyed, by none other than myself." she lifted her head, as though to show off how proud she was of herself, "Anyways, I took the liberty of killing this quaint little family first. After all, I needed something to relieve me of my boredom. But I decided to spare the poor little girl. When I did that, I also made the decision to put her to good use. I poured as much darkness as I could into her, causing her soul to shrivel and die. Now, I can control her as much as I want."

No matter how hard I tried, this time I could not hold back the tears. The little girl in the photo **wasn't** Hikari. She was a happy girl whose life was **destroyed** by Hikari. The lump in my throat grew as the tears came faster. But they weren't tears of sadness. While I did feel sorry for the girl and her family, I was infuriated with the fact that Hikari was now using the child's body for something like this. The thought of it made me sick.

I glanced at Riku, who was wide-eyed and trembling. Hikari got a smug look on her face, "The real me is tucked away safely in a place that you can't reach. So, go ahead and shoot. All you'll be doing is desecrating the remains of an innocent little 7 year old girl."

My heart felt like it was being weighed down by heavy chains as I watched Riku. His hand was still tight around the gun and his finger was still on the trigger. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was no way Riku would shoot her. **My** Riku would never do that. His brow furrowed and he quivered as his finger slowly started to pull the trigger back.

But, at the last second, Riku dropped the gun and fell his knees. His expression was empty, but his eyes showed how ashamed he was, "I'm sorry, Hika … I-I can't…" The corners of my mouth lifted into a small smile, _thank god._ Hikari's grin, on the other hand, fell, "You're no fun at all." She turned away from him, "Well, **you** can still entertain me, so I'll leave you alive. Until next time, ta-ta!" She suddenly lifted her hands above her head and a waterfall of dark clouds spilled out from her palms, engulfing her. The clouds cleared to reveal that Hikari was gone.

When I looked back up at Riku, he seemed to be almost as feeble as I was. He tried to lift himself, but only stumbled back to the ground. Still, he came to me … he practically had to crawl. My face must have been a mess of blood and tears, which were spilling out of my eyes in a fresh wave as I sobbed. I couldn't stand it … seeing Riku reduced to a bleeding man, crawling on the ground just to get to me. But, I didn't close my eyes. I knew that loving him meant that I'd have to see him at his highest and lowest, whether I wanted to or not.

Riku stopped when he got to me and pick my head up off the ground gently, his mouth hanging open as if he wanted to say something, but nothing would come out. The sight of his face, crumpled in pain, tore at me worse than Hikari's sword had. He lifted me into his lap, shaking with the effort, and cradled me to his chest. I could feel his chest, his whole body, shudder with every silent sob.

I felt so useless. The blood was still flowing out of my open wound, and by now my vision was blurred. I was so weak … so very weak. At this rate, I would … but I couldn't, so I held onto consciousness as hard as I could even as more blood forced its way up my throat and slid out of the corner of my mouth. Riku suddenly leaned down, putting his lips so close to my ear that they brushed against it as he whispered, "Hika-" his voice broke and he paused, as though he were having trouble speaking, "Hika, please. I-I already lost you once … don't leave again." His sobs were no longer quiet and tears flowed freely form his eyes, "I still … I want to … Please, Hika, if you d-" again he paused as he flinched away from the thought that had crossed his mind, "Please don't. I still have something important I need to ask you."

At this point, I couldn't breathe and my vision was almost completely black. I could scarcely hear the faint sounds of the others' panicked voices as they ran to join us. With my last bit of strength, I smiled at him, trying to reassure him. But, I didn't get to see his face again. Only seconds after my faint smile, everything faded. I couldn't hear, see, or feel anything. There was only one thing that echoed through my mind; the three options that Hikari had listed when she said only I could free the Soul Eaters.

"One, don't free them at all. Just go back to the islands and live out a happy, ignorant life with your precious Riku. Two, leave your friends behind so that they won't be burdened by your existence any longer. Or three, use your worthless friends' keyblades to unlock the true light inside of you … just one problem …"

"… that last option … will be the **death** of you."


	18. Chapter 16: His Question

**Ch. 16**

_**His Question**_

I opened my eyes, but I still couldn't see a thing … it was too dark. I felt around the soft surface that I was lying on, but of course, that did nothing. Kiri scoffed, _what were you expecting to find?_ "I don't know," I moaned, "where am I?" The only answer was the light sound of breathing. _About the choices that Hikari gave you,_ Kiri spoke up, _what are you going to choose? _I mumbled, "I don't want to think about that right now." My eyes started searching the darkness for the source of the noise. In the dark room I could barely see the outline of someone slouched over in a chair.

I tried to sit up, to get a closer look, but a sudden, sharp pain jabbed my stomach. _Hey,_ Kiri went into a small panic, _don't get up! You're too hurt!_ I groaned loudly and a muffled voice came from somewhere outside the room. Footsteps approached, followed by the sound of a door opening and then a bright light flooding the room. I quickly covered my eyes with my arm and let out a whimper.

"Oh," a jovial voice came from the door way, "My apologies, I didn't expect you to be awake. At least, not so soon." _Who is he?_ Kiri questioned. I shrugged and kept my eyes covered for a little while longer before opening them and squinting as my eyes adjusted to the light. Standing next to the bed I was lying on was an old man with an outrageously long, white beard, round glasses, and blue clothes that looked like they belonged to a storybook wizard. "But," he continued, "you **have** been out for an entire week. Oh, by the way, my dear lady, I'm Merlin. I'm sure the others have told you about me."

"A week?" I mumbled, not sounding nearly as surprised as I was. Merlin smiled and nodded before turning around and walking to a table he had set up near by with medicines on it. Kiri frowned, _those wounds weren't exactly minor._ I almost closed my eyes again, but then I remembered the dark, slumped-over figure that had been next to my bed.

Again, I listened for the slight sound of breathing. The breathing was slow, like the sound of someone deep in sleep. My eyes scanned the room. It was the same room that I had first met Cid, Leon, and Cloud in. My gaze came to rest on Riku. He was sleeping in a chair next to the bed with his arms crossed and his head leaning to one side. A smiled pulled at the corners of my mouth. I was so happy to see that he was alright, but still, something worried me, "How long has he been like that?"

"Hm?" Merlin turned to face me and followed my gaze, "Oh, he's been there for quite a while. Almost the whole time." My jaw dropped slightly, but the sorcerer went on, "The only time he's really left was to shower and use the bathroom. Sora and Kairi even brought him food." I could feel Kiri smile at me and the same grin crept across my face again as I sighed, "He did it again … he actually waited for me to wake up."

Merlin's smile fell, "This happened before?" I nodded, but was too distracted to fully answer him. I wanted to get up, to make absolutely sure Riku was alright, but if I even tried the pain in my stomach would flare again. He sighed, "He was the only one that refused to believe me. Well, I guess he was right." I tilted my head at him, but he simply smiled and leaned over, whispering something into Riku's ear. Riku's brow furrowed for a second, then his eyes slowly opened as Merlin whispered to him again. A light gasp escaped Riku and his eyes widened as he looked up at Merlin. He stood, wincing slightly as he did. His eyes followed Merlin as he headed to the door. The magician glanced over his shoulder, "But, remember, treat her with care; she is still badly hurt." Then Merlin walked out and closed the door behind him. _I guess I'll give you two some alone time,_ Kiri told me, sinking into the corner of my mind. I smiled gratefully.

Riku's gaze shifted to me, his mouth hanging open. He blinked a couple times, as if making sure he wasn't imagining this. But then, he sighed and shook his head, his eyes watering slightly as he walked to sit down on the edge of the bed, facing away from me. He buried his face in his hands and murmured to himself, "I don't know how many more of these dreams I can take." My heart jerked inside my chest and a lump formed at the back of my throat. He'd actually had dreams about this? I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the terrible pain in the pit of my stomach, and moved over to him.

Wrapping one arm around his waist and using my other hand to move his hair, I kissed his neck delicately, feeling as though one wrong move would cause him to shatter. His muscles tightened and his breathing hitched as I leaned in closer to his ear and spoke softly, "It's not a dream."

We stayed like that for a moment. Then, I moved away from him and he slowly turned to face me. His jaw dropped slightly as he slowly reached up and touched my cheek, "This is real … you're awake." I smiled at him and caressed the back of his hand with my finger tips, letting him know that this really wasn't just another dream. He suddenly moved forward and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my hair, "You pulled through … you survived."

I pulled back, "Why wouldn't I?" His looked away, his expression pained, so I shook my head, "You know what? Never mind, that doesn't matter." I went to hug him again, but he stopped me and looked me in the eyes with so much heat that I had to fight the urge to kiss him.

"It does matter. I need to tell you." His brow creased, "Merlin said that the chance of you surviving was slim." He paused for moment, as if gathering his thoughts, "I-I've nearly lost you twice now … and I don't want it to happen again, so I need you to promise me something."

I tilted my head slightly, answering his steady gaze with my own, "What is it?"

Riku's expression was desperate, as though this promise was something that was truly vital to his life, "I need you to promise me that we'll both make it back to the islands, and that," he paused, taking a deep breath, like he was gathering up all the strength and courage he had, "when we do, you'll-"

The door suddenly burst open and Yui came flying in, Sora and Kairi close behind. Yui jumped onto the bed and started jumping happily, "Mama's awake!" Kairi caught Yui in midair and put him down on the floor as she laughed. Yui pouted at her slightly before turning back to me and smiling again, "I'm happy you're awake, Mama."

I smiled at him, but was slightly distracted by Riku and Sora's silent exchange. Sora was giving him a meaningful look and Riku shook his head a little, causing Sora to roll his eyes and sigh. Kairi sat next to Riku and gently pushed me back, "I'm happy you're awake, too, but you need to lie down. Even if you were asleep for a week, that wasn't enough time for the wound to heal." Heaving a sigh, I did as I was told.

Sora beamed at me, but then turned to Kairi, "We should go. These three have something they have to talk about." She nodded and followed Sora out the door. Riku and I looked expectantly at Yui, who simply smiled at us.

_I have an idea, Mama!_ Yui clapped his hands together and jumped up and down, _I want to help you, but I can't really fight, so maybe I could teach you how to use your light the way other Soul Eaters do!_ I quirked an eyebrow at him and he answered my silent question, _It's just like what Hikari does with her darkness, only with light. She can use the darkness that's inside of her, and you can use the light that's inside of you, if you learned how._

"Actually," I smiled, "that does sound really helpful. Okay, when do we start?" Yui giggled, _not 'till you heal, silly! Until then, Starfish Boy told me to let you rest._ I laughed a little, but winced at the pain that even just that caused. Riku immediately noticed and knelt down next to Yui, "Let's go, Yui; Mama needs more time to recover."

Yui nodded, looking slightly guilty as they headed to the door. I smiled as I watched them walk away, but the smile fell when I thought of what I might have to do and what that would mean for Yui. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled. Riku shut the door behind Yui, came back to me, and sat back down on the edge of the bed, making my eyelids pop back open.

I watched his eyes as they traveled up and down my body and, as soon as they met mine, he blushed; probably embarrassed that he was caught looking at me like that. He cleared his throat, "How are you feeling?"

I gave him a knowing look and giggled, causing his gaze to falter slightly, but I let it go. "I'm feeling fine." I lied, not wanting to worry him more than I had the past week. But, he could tell when I was lying better than anyone could, so he sighed, "Let me see." He peeled the blanked back and lifted the bottom of my shirt, revealing bloody bandages. He flinched away at the sight of them and quickly went to Merlin's table, bringing back fresh bandages and some green, foul smelling gel, which I guessed was some sort of ointment.

He helped me sit up, and I held up the bottom of my shirt as he took of the old, bloody wrapping and replaced it. As he did, my mind wandered aimlessly, avoiding the choices the Hikari had given me, the choices that I would eventually have to deal with. Something crossed my mind; something that, surprisingly enough, hadn't occurred to me until now, "Hey, Riku, it's been almost a year since we met, so how old will you be this year?" He picked up the some scissors and cut off the left over gauze, "I'll be turning twenty two weeks from now." I pouted a little, "That means you'll be one year older than me." He chuckled, "Yes, it does."

Only when I pulled my shirt back down did I realize that it wasn't the shirt that I had originally been wearing. Of course it wasn't, my old shirt was probably completely destroyed. This one was a powder blue tank top with slightly darker blue trim. I glanced at my new, blue jeans, and then up at Riku as he threw away the bloody bandages, "Riku, who changed me?"

He froze for a second, then turned to face me, a deep blush covering his cheeks, "I … well … Merlin said he was too busy and Kairi and the other girls refused, so I had to … um." I sputtered, my face heating up as I looked down. I heard Riku take a deep breath as he walked back to the bed and sat down next to me again, "I-I didn't see anything … I mean, nothing that I hadn't seen the few times that I accidentally walked in on you while you were changing back on the islands. Just your underwear." I looked back up at him, only to see him hiding behind his bangs.

I sighed, "It's okay. The girls probably refused because they knew Merlin would be busy and you wouldn't want any other boy to see me like that." He looked up at me and smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, I know … but still, I-" "It's okay," I interrupted, "But, I do have a question." "W-what is it?" he asked, seemingly happy for a change of subject. I looked him in the eyes, "Did you really stay in here the whole time I was asleep?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

He chuckled quietly, "Why wouldn't I?" I shrugged, "Because there were a lot of other, better things to do with your time." He suddenly, gently wrapped his arms around me gently and nuzzled my neck, "That's not true at all. I love you, and there was a huge chance that I was going to really lose you this time. I was worried and wanted to spend as much time with you as possible, conscious or not."

What he said reminded me of our earlier conversation. I thought back on what he'd said. He told me that he didn't want to lose me again, that he needed me to promise him something. "What were you saying earlier?" Riku quirked an eyebrow, "What?" I giggled, "What was the promise you wanted me to make? I heard the part about returning to Destiny Islands, but you never finished."

Riku blushed again, suddenly looking down, "W-well, I." He got up and started pacing slowly, as if he were trying to gather the courage that he'd had earlier. In the meantime, I tried to get more comfortable by moving to the edge of the bed, so that my legs were hanging over the side. His eyes bolted up to me and he took in a deep breath. Then he walked over and stood in front of me with the same, heated gaze that he'd given me earlier, "It's about the question I needed to ask you, do you remember?" I thought back to what had happened before I passed out and barely recalled what Riku had said; "I still have something important I need to ask you." I nodded, looking deep into his eyes and wondering what exactly he was getting at.

"This may be old fashioned, but I want to do it right," he suddenly dropped down on one knee in front of me and took my hands in his, blushing all the while, "I can't stand the thought of losing you again. So, will you promise that you'll make it back safely to the islands with me, and when you do …"

He paused for a moment, taking another, slightly more unsteady breath, "Will you marry me?"

NOTE: Sorry to all the action lovers that this isn't more action-packed. I wanted to do something for the hopeless romantics out there. Plus, this makes things a little more difficult for the decision Hika has to make, doesn't it? It presents more of a conflict for her. Still, **don't worry action lovers**, I'll make a chapter just for you guys after the next chapter.


	19. Chapter 17: Her Answer

**Ch. 17**

_**Her Answer**_

My breath hitched and my heart beat skipped.

Did I hear him right? I went over the words again and again, until they were engraved in my mind; will you marry me? My chest tightened at the mere thought of standing at the altar with him, the thought of giving him the kiss that would seal everything. I tried to speak, but words wouldn't come. Instead, tears came; sliding down my cheeks and falling onto my lap.

"Hika?" Riku lifted his hands from mine and tenderly wiped the tears from my cheeks, his expression just as gentle as his touch.

My eyes still stinging as the tears came faster, I reached up and layed my hands on his. I knew how I should have answered; I knew I should have said no. If I didn't, it would only make things harder for him in the end. So, I opened my mouth again, "I … I ca-" Each time I tried, something stopped me. I should have felt torn, but the fact that he was kneeling in front of me, asking me to marry him, made me absolutely blissful … I wanted nothing more than to say yes. My brow furrowed and I looked away from him, hiding behind my bangs. But he put his forehead to mine and looked into my eyes, this time panic was clear on his face, "What is it Hika? Does it hurt?" One hand went to my stomach, lightly touching my wound.

I giggled even as I continued to cry, "No, that's not it, silly." I bit my lip and tried not to think of what I was about to do and how truly selfish it was. "I'm just so happy." I held his gaze with mine, and in that moment, I forgot everything else, "Of course … Of course I'll marry you."

Riku suddenly let out a sigh that made it seem like he'd been holding his breath the whole time, "Hika." A wide smile spread across my face and I laughed excitedly. His expression mirrored mine as he chuckled quietly. He kissed away my remaining tears, then pressed his lips to mine with more passion than ever before. And I answered that passion with my own, pouring as much love into the kiss as I could. Parting my lips, I shyly invited him to deepen the kiss, but …

There was a sudden crashing noise from outside the door, followed by hushed whispers. Riku's lips parted from mine and he sighed, looking a little irritated. An idea crossed my mind, making me laugh quietly. Already knowing that Sora was probably the one on the other side of the door, I decided to play a little game.

I stood up and walked quietly to the door, stopping and peeking over my shoulder at Riku. His eyebrow was quirked and his head was tilted slightly. I put my finger to my lips and winked at him as I leaned against the wall next to the door, "Riku … not there, that tickles." He gave me a strange look, so I imitated the shape of Sora's hair with my fingers. All he did was smirk.

Riku sat on the bed and leaned back, that same smile still on his face, "How about this?"

I made a small, provocative noise, "But, Riku, it feels better right here."

He continued calmly, as nonchalantly as if he were talking about petting Makodo, "Hm … how does that feel?"

I made one last noise and thumped my hand on the wall a little bit. Suddenly, Sora, Donald, and Goofy burst through the door, their faces completely appalled, except for Donald, who was totally infuriated. Sora automatically shouted, "What are you doing in here?!" Riku and I just smiled at him, both of us giving him looks that said, 'We knew you were listening.' Kiri couldn't resist laughing at their expressions.

Then Kairi and Yuffie coolly strode in. Kairi crossed her arms, "I told you they weren't doing anything." Yuffie nodded, "They were just pulling your leg. They aren't the type to do that stuff before marriage anyways." She turned to me and winked. I laughed nervously and Riku simply chuckled as he walked to my side and intertwined his fingers with mine. Yuffie began to jump up and down joyfully, "When's the wedding going to be?"

Everyone looked at us expectantly, but, seeing as how I had no idea how stuff like this worked, I quickly shifted my gaze to Riku, although I wasn't sure he knew either. He thought for a moment before looking to me, "About a month after we get back? That should give us enough time to plan it." I smiled, feeling like a small school girl with her first crush as butterflies tangled in my stomach. Yuffie let out a sudden, gleeful squeal and ran out the door, "Cloud! Vincent! I've got great news!"

Kairi rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'll go keep her under control." She started to leave, but Sora, Donald, and Goofy stayed where they were, astonished expressions glued on their faces. Kairi started herding them out of the room, "Come on, guys; let's give them their privacy."

"Actually, now that she's awake she's probably hungry, so I'm going to go get her some food." Riku turned to me, "What would you like?" I shrugged, "Anything sounds good. Just get me whatever." He kissed the back of my hand, then my forehead, "I should have expected that … you never were very picky." I laughed and watched him as he followed Kairi out the door. Then I turned to the bed when the door closed.

I flopped down on the soft mattress, wincing at the pain that spread from my wound, which I had nearly forgotten about until now. It had been a week since it had happened, so while it was still bad, it was probably way better than it had been.

Kiri resurfaced, _congrats_. But, her congratulations was half-hearted, and she probably knew that I could see that, so she continued, _You know, you won't be able to avoid it for long.._

"I know."

_And with the choice that we both know your going to make, this happiness won't last forever._

"I know that, too. But, Kiri…"

_Yeah?_

"At least let me have this selfish dream for a little while longer."

Then, she didn't say anything and after a while, I simply fell asleep. Moments later I woke up to Riku gently shaking my shoulder, "Hey, love. Sorry to wake you up, but Merlin said that you have to eat." I slowly sat up and looked at him dazedly as I wiped the sleep from my eyes, "Love?" He chuckled quietly and sat next to me, putting a tray of toasted ravioli, garlic bread, and milk on my lap. Then he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned his head on mine, "Of course." I smiled at him, then started nibbling on a piece of the ravioli, not really feeling as hungry as thought I would.

I glanced at Riku, who quirked his eyebrow and smirked slightly, "You know you have to eat." I sighed, immediately giving in and just eating. Riku laughed a little, causing me to pause and look up at him, "What is it?" His smile widened a bit, "Well, Kairi couldn't manage to get Yuffie calmed down, so everyone knows about our engagement now." I smiled, a sudden, heavenly feeling floating inside me. Riku gave me a strange look. I held my head high, as though I had just won some sort of prize, "'Our engagement' … 'OUR engagement' … 'our ENGAGEMENT' … Yep, no matter how you say it, it just …" I raised my shoulders a little as I continued to eat, giggling quietly to myself. He gave me another odd look before laughing, "Yeah, our engagement."

For a while we sat in silence as I finished eating. I was unbelievably ecstatic the whole time, but the choice that I would have to make kept tugging at the back of my mind. Not even a minute after I finished eating, something started scratching at the door, accompanied by a strange hissing sound. "Oh," Riku stood and started walking to the door, "I almost forgot to tell you." He put his hand on the door knob and turned to face me. A twisted, horrifying grin suddenly crossed his features, "Someone came to see you."

He opened the door to reveal Hikari standing on the other side. My eyes widened and I tried to move, to grab Riku and get out of there, but something was wrong. I couldn't move a muscle. Was she controlling me again? She waved and laughed happily, "Don't worry, I'm only here to watch. Riku has something he wants to tell you."

They both approached me, those disturbing smiles still on their faces. The room went dark and they both leaned close to me, Hikari next to my right ear and Riku next to my left ear. Riku whispered, a dangerous edge in his voice, "You're really something, you know that?" Sudden images flashed through my mind, making fear twist inside my chest; a silver snake with gold eyes poised to strike, Hikari holding the snake … then the image disappeared for an instant only slightly different when it appeared again. This time Hikari was sitting on a black granite throne, still holding the snake, with everyone's corpses lying around her … Sora, Donald, Goofy … Leon, Cloud … Riku.

The pictures faded completely, my mind coming back to the situation at hand. Riku chuckled, "Those were images of the future if you stay here. We'll die … everyone. Even if you do unlock the light and give yourself up like the goody-goody you are, you think that will make things better?" I flinched away as his words continued to cut deeper into me, wounding my heart. This isn't him … there's no way … is Hikari controlling him too? He went on, "You said you'd marry me, but you know you won't. You're going to give your life to bring rest to those Soul Eaters. You just thought that you'd make me happy to think that I'd be with you forever? You're disgusting. Thanks to you, I've been dragged deeper into this mess; thanks to you I'll end up either miserable or dead … take your pick."

Then, Hikari spoke up, "And I'm not even using the darkness I put inside him." She backed away and giggled. Then Riku pulled back slightly, looking me in the eye as he put one hand on my shoulder and balled the other into a fist, "I hate you." My heart stopped. He hurled his fist at my wound. I screamed.

Kiri's voice suddenly broke into my thoughts, _HIKA!_

Then, the entire scene shattered, like glass being thrown to the floor. Riku was still looking me in the eyes, but this time his expression was frantic, "Hika, what is it? What's wrong?" I stared, wide eyed, "Riku? What happened?" Riku touched my cheek, "I'd gotten up to let Yui and Makodo in, but when I turned back around your face was blank, and a second later you started screaming."

_Mama?_ I looked down to see Yui peeking out from behind Riku's leg, tears in his eyes, _Are you okay now?_ I smiled, so as not to worry Yui, "Yes, I'm fine now. Mama was just having a little daydream." Kiri spoke up again, _No, it was Hikari. While the darkness that she infected me with before is disappearing, she still has enough power over us to pull things from my past and to force nightmares into your mind like that. She's trying to scare you again._

"Hika?"

I looked up at Riku, "Oh, that's right. You can't hear her." He nodded, then listened patiently as I explained what had happened and what Kiri had told me. When I finished Yui jumped into my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. Riku looked thoughtful as he petted Makodo. For a moment I just stared, shocked, "When did he get here exactly?"

Riku smiled and sat on the bed next to me, "Well, he showed up a day ago, and Yui was with him, so I assumed that he'd brought Makodo here some how." I glanced at Yui, who nodded happily and laughed when Makodo barked. I quirked an eyebrow, "How … no, never mind, we can worry about that later." Makodo layed his head on Riku's lap and started up at him. Riku scratched behind Makodo's ear, deep in thought, "What are we going to do?" I glanced at him. To anyone else he might have looked calm and thoughtful, but there were subtle hints in his expression that said otherwise. His brow was furrowed and there was a look in his eyes that, to me, gave away how truly angry and upset he was, "While Hikari is willing to wait for you to heal just so she can have more fun, it's obvious the infected Soul Eaters won't. Sora and the others are trying to keep them at bay as we speak."

So, the others are still fighting to protect me, and Riku is doing everything he can to make sure I'm okay. I hate this. I'm so tired of being protected. I need to learn to fight back. Just being able to fire a gun won't work anymore.

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and, more concerned about how livid Riku was. Trying to help calm Riku down, I leaned my head on his shoulder and held his free hand in mine. Then, for his sake, I lied, "It's okay, Riku. I'm fine, just a little shaken is all." Riku looked at me for a moment, completely shocked, then he simply sighed and gave me a bitter sweet smile.

The truth was, I was terrified. The image of Riku's corpse wouldn't leave my mind and what the fake Riku had said kept echoing … "Thanks to you, I'll end up either miserable or dead … take your pick."

Yui touched my cheek, forcing me out of my reverie, _Mama, why are you so pale?_ I sighed and put on my most convincing smile, "It's nothing, Yui, just a little tired. As for what we're … no, what I'm going to do next, I'll fight back."

He smiled and chuckled, "Well, none of us will stop you … but what happened to the Hika from the islands that was too lazy to even get dressed for bed before she fell asleep?" I grinned, "She woke up."

Then, I turned to Yui, "Now, how soon are you willing to teach me about the light?"

NOTE: I have posted a new poll on my profile asking what world Hika should go to next and who should go with her ... please help me decide!


	20. Chapter 18: Fighting

**Ch. 18**

_**Fighting**_

First, I had to speak to Merlin and Mickey. I couldn't jump into this without thinking; I had to get as much information as I could, and they were the best place to start. When I asked them what they could tell me about the true light, Merlin said that he truly had no idea. But Mickey knew the whole story behind the true light, and didn't hesitate to tell me;

*"Long ago, the world was united and filled with warm light. People loved the light, and eventually began fighting over it. Then darkness found its way into the people's hearts. Darkness consumed the hearts and light of the people, and in a flash it spread … the world disappeared into darkness. But a glimmer of light remained in the hearts of children … children gathered their glimmers of light and recreated the worlds. The recreated world, however, was no longer united … it was divided into several smaller worlds, because the true light was still hidden deep within the darkness …"*

He said that that was only the legend that surrounded the true light, but it was about as close to the truth as we could get. Then Kiri explained the rest. Even though the true light was sealed inside the darkness as the legend says, it was too strong to be completely contained and the light that escaped was enough to keep Ansem and Xehanort from continuing their experiments. So, while Ansem stopped, Xehanort drew out the true light, creating Kiri. Still, since Kiri was the true light, even her presence blocked his experiments. She didn't bother telling me the rest of the story because it had already been explained to me several times, so I understood it well enough.

The rest of the week was nothing but eating, taking foul smelling medicine made by Merlin, sleeping, and practicing controlling my light the way Hikari controlled her darkness.

Apparently Riku had already explained what had happened with Hikari, which made things much easier. Now the only thing they didn't know was the choice that Hikari said I would have to make. I wanted to know what the others were doing, but Riku said to concentrate on practicing with Yui, so I did as I was told.

Before I could learn about how to do anything special with my light, Yui had to teach me exactly how to control it. That lesson itself took about three days. Yui showed me how to reach inside myself and pull the light to the surface. Then he taught me how to fully manipulate it. By the end of the week I could focus the light into any three parts of my body, I could project it outside of my body, and I could even stretch it out to form a shield around any person or object I chose.

After that Yui told me about the different things my light could do that other Soul Eaters' light wasn't strong enough to do. The main thing he stressed was how to use my gun, the Conductor. If I simply shot the gun, that would have very little effect on the real Hikari. In order to do any harm to her, I had to focus pieces of the light into the Conductor, then I could either force it into the form of a sword, which I had done subconsciously the first time I met Hikari, or I could shape shards of the light into bullets and shoot them.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that Yui taught me. Apparently I could focus the light in my nerves and enhance my senses, strength, and speed. I never really got the handle on that, because to do it you had to know exactly were the nerves were in the body and … well, let's just say I was never very good in health class.

Then, Yui taught me something that he kept referring to as "Purity". Basically, I could send my light into the souls of others and use it to get rid of Hikari's darkness. This one took me a whole other week to learn, but only because of what happened when I practiced. Everyone else was busy fighting off the infected Soul Eaters or getting some rest, so when I practiced, I had to practice on Riku. The process was painful … not for me, but for him. He had to lie down, then I had to reach my light inside of him and drag his soul to the surface, practically ripping it out through his chest. Each time I did, Riku tried to hold back his groans, but failed.

Because of that, I would always freeze, then I'd have to start all over again. By the end of the day, Riku was exhausted and sore. I could barely stand to look at him knowing that I'd done that to him. Still, he'd always end up telling me to try again, until I got it right. But, after I was finally able to do it, I had to perform Purity on everyone else … one … at … a … time … When I finally finished I was emotionally raw and couldn't look at the others with thinking of the pain that the Purity had put them through. My only solace was the fact that, now, Hikari couldn't control them.

The last thing that Yui taught me was the one thing that I really needed. But, with this, there was no practice. He called it "Release". In order to use Release, I would have to have all three of the Keyblades. Then, all I had to do was use the keyblades to unlock the true light. It was after this that I forced myself to acknowledge the decision that I'd already made … I was going to use Release. Then all of the Soul Eaters would find peace, the worlds would be joined once more, and Riku, Sora, and Kairi would be able to go home and still be able to see their other friends … that would make them happy, right?

The look on my face after Yui had explained Release to me must have been strange, because he was starting to catch on to what I was planning. So I decided to distract him by asking him why I was able to use the keyblades in the first place. I hadn't even noticed until then, but I shouldn't have been able to wield the keyblades. Only Sora, Riku, and Mickey should have been able to.

When I asked why I could, Yui said that it was because of the fact that the keyblades chose those with the strongest hearts to wield them. The strength of hearts depends on the amount of light in the heart, so, since I am the true light, my heart was strong enough to use the keyblades.

After I was healed well enough to practice with the Conductor well over a month had already passed. I applied what I had learned about the light to our fights with the infected Soul Eaters. I didn't bother trying to unlock the light though … because I wasn't stupid.

While using Release would put the Soul Eaters to rest, it wouldn't get rid of Hikari. Knowing her, after I was gone she would start to chase after the keyblade bearers and I wasn't going to let that happen. After I left, I wanted to make sure that Riku would finally be able to lead a normal, happy life. So, I determined that I would find Hikari and get rid of her, one way or another. Only then would I go back to the islands and perform the Release.

At last it was time for us to leave for the world that we would start our search for Hikari on. But, before that …

"These Soul Eaters will be nothing compared to the real Hikari." I stood near Merlin's house, grasping the Conductor in my hand and aiming directly at Vincent. Everyone else's expressions were shocked, their jaws practically hitting the ground, but Vincent seemed to understand perfectly what needed to be done.

"So," Vincent pulled his gun, Cerberus from its holster, "you figure that you should get in some practice with someone that is at least close to Hikari's level … Is that what you want?"

I nodded, knowing that the look on my face probably resembled that of a stubborn child, "Riku and the others are strong of course, but you barely even try and you can wipe out twice as many Soul Eaters as them in nearly half the time."

"Sheesh," Yuffie sighed, "I guess we better clear out; this will probably get messy." The others agreed and started to move away, even Riku knew that it probably wouldn't be wise to stand too close. As they walked away Riku wished me luck while the others said things like, "Don't be too hard on her, Vincent!" or "You can do it, Hika!" When everyone was at a safe distance I stared steadily at Vincent, who returned my unblinking gaze with his own.

As quickly as I could, I forced light out of the soles of my feet, propelling myself toward him at a speed that was at least three times that of my normal pace as I shouted, "Don't hold back!" I turned the Conductor into a sword and brought it down hard on Vincent, who easily blocked it with the golden armor on his arm. I pushed off of his arm, sending myself into the air while changing the light that I had formed into the sword into bullets. As fast as possible, I aimed at Vincent and pulled the trigger.

A surprised gasp escaped him, "You're pretty swift …" He was suddenly behind me, "… but that will be nothing compared to Hikari." He had his gun pressed to my back and I could almost hear the clicking noise that came from it as he pulled the trigger. Just as the bullet left the barrel I stretched the light around me to form a skin-tight shield. The force of the shot sent us both flying in opposite directions. I hit the ground hard, but knowing that Vincent would be coming at me again in seconds, I forced myself up.

I was right; the moment I was up, Vincent was attacking viciously with the butt of his Cerberus. I blocked with the Conductor and countered by launching my fist at him with as much force as I could muster. I even used the light to increase the damage that the blow would inflict, but that did nothing. He simply caught my fist, the impact sending shock waves through the air and breaking the bricked pathway beneath us.

Vincent grunted as he forced his hand forward, sending me back. Again, I aimed Conductor at him and shot, but he did the same with Cerberus, deflecting my bullet. He charged at me, his trailing red cape resembling torn devil's wings. He pulled Cerberus up, probably with the intention of putting the barrel to my temple, but I did the same, causing our barrels to collide. The metallic clang the collision produced still rang through the air as he lashed out with the pointed fingers of his golden armor. I blocked each one of his blows with Conductor, waiting for my opening.

Then I took my chance, thrusting my knee forward and hitting his gut. The blow knocked the wind out of him, causing him to moan slightly as he doubled over. Then, I balled my free hand into a fist and punched him hard in the cheek. While that did make him stagger back a bit, he remained standing.

I couldn't stop myself from smiling a little. I actually hit him! I hit Vincent! I really landed a solid blow on him! I can't believe it! _I don't think you should celebrate yet,_ Kiri pointed out. I shook my head slightly, "Right!" I looked back at where he had been, but he was no longer there.

"Don't get distracted," Vincent's voice was right next to my ear, his tone haunting, "unlike me, Hikari will be coming after you with the intention of killing you." I jumped away, turning to face him as I did. He tapped his head, "Remember that."

I inhaled deeply and nodded before turning Conductor into a sword again, "She'll probably be using that black sword that she stabbed me with. So I should practice with this right?"

He chuckled slightly, "You're catching on." I'd realized something as we fought. While normally Vincent would try to only use Cerberus so that he could attack from afar, he'd actually avoided doing that in this fight. That's because Hikari wouldn't be fighting at long range, she'd be using that black blade for up close attacks. Vincent was really going out of his way to prepare me for anything that Hikari would throw at me.

I launched myself at him, "I'll have to thank you for that later."

Moments later, we both collapsed simultaneously, gasping for air. I stood, still wanting to continue the training, but Riku, Kairi, and Sora stood in front of me, smiling. Riku offered me his hand, "It would be pointless to keep going … you two are pretty evenly matched." I gave in quickly, too exhausted to fight anymore anyways.

So, Vincent, Kairi, Sora, Mickey, Riku and me gathered whatever we might need on the road ahead and boarded the ship. Donald and Goofy said that they would stay in Radiant Garden and help keep the infected Soul Eaters at bay. I was the last one on, and Yui and Makodo stuck close to my side.

As the ship's door closed, I turned my attention to Kiri. The nightmare that Hikari had given me had been nagging at the back off my mind the whole time, but I'd simply pushed it aside … now I had no choice but to face it … it was the only thing left that bothered me and I wasn't going to be able to ignore it, "Kiri?"

_Yeah?_

"You know all that there is to know about Hikari, don't you?"

_Yes._

"No more secrets … tell me what that nightmare meant."

NOTE- Sorry if this was a little boring at the beginning, this was mostly an informational chapter. I tried to liven it up toward the end with that sparring match between Vince and Hika. Still, I hopefully this chapter wasn't too disappointing. By the way, the poll is still open for my amazing readers to help me choose what world they go to next, but only until Wednesday.

**The legend that Mickey told Hika about the true light was a direct quote from the official manga of Kingdom Hearts Vol. 1.


	21. Chapter 19: Scream

**Ch. 19**

_**Scream**_

_I honestly don't know … all I can do is speculate._

I walked into one of the small rooms on the ship and sighed as I flopped down on the bed on my back, "But, the nightmare must have meant something, and you know how Hikari thinks better than any of us." _My guess,_ she pondered, _is that she wants to scare you. But it's strange …_

"What is?"

_She's already tried to scare you multiple times … she knows it won't work, and it seemed like she was giving up on that last time … it just doesn't make any sense._

"Then maybe there is a better reason for it." I started to sit up, only to see Riku standing at the door. I smiled as he walked over and sat on the bed across from me, planting a warm kiss on my cheek. He wore my favorite gentle smile as he quirked his eyebrow, "Are you talking to Kiri?"

I nodded and sighed, putting my elbows on my knees and burying my face in my hands, "We're trying to figure out that nightmare that Hikari gave me." He was quiet for a moment, then answered hesitantly, "Well … maybe it wasn't Hikari." I looked up at him, my brow furrowed, "What?" He stayed silent, as if trying to sort out his thoughts, "Hikari can manipulate your mind like that because she is the true darkness, and you're the true light, which means you are connected, right?"

"Yeah."

"But you and the Soul Eaters are connected too, aren't you?"

"Of course … what are you getting at?"

"What if one of the Soul Eaters is trying to warn you? Maybe they're trying to tell you what you need to be ready for."

I sighed inwardly, "So, is it possible, Kiri?" _I don't really know,_ she replied, _I guess it is._ My brow furrowed and I groaned a bit, "Well, that's vague." Riku cocked an eyebrow, "What did she say?" I fell back on the bed, feeling slightly agitated, "Nothing useful." I covered my eyes with the bend of my elbow and exhaled. The bed across from me creaked, and my bed indented next to me. Riku leaned in and whispered into my ear, "Just calm down, love, we'll figure it out."

For the rest of the time we tried to figure out what it might have meant, but the only thing we could figure out was that Hikari probably owned some sort of snake … and that didn't help out much. Moments later we landed in a world that the others called Halloween Town. When we landed and stepped off the ship, I couldn't believe my eyes.

Everyone's clothes had changed as soon as we stepped off the ship. Sora came out looking like some kind of bat with a pumpkin mask on. Mickey was kind of like a mini, black Frankenstein with big round ears.

I spent a few … um … extra minutes looking at Riku's outfit. He wore a vest that resembled the one he normally wore, except for the fact that it was tattered and black…and unzipped. My eyes lingered on his chest and softly toned stomach; I blushed and looked away before he could notice me staring. He wore black pants with tattered ends and a pair of equally black combat boots. The gigantic dragon-like wings sprouting from his back caught me by surprise, as did the light gray reptile tail waving around his feet. His face seemed normal, but his ears were pointed at the ends. Six sharp horns emerged from the top of his head, their dark color contrasting against his hair. I noticed that his fingernails were slightly pointed, like the claws of a wild cat.

After looking at his outfit, I took the time to look at mine…at least, what I could see. I knew there was some kind of mask on the right side of my face, but I couldn't tell what it looked like. I also wore a halter dress that ended just above my knees; it was black at the top, but gradually faded to white at the bottom. Two tiny bat clips were attached to the halter straps; they creeped me out a bit…the bat clips might be cute, but they were still rodents. My shoes were black ballet flats with ribbons wrapped around my calves. I brought one hand to my ears and felt that they were pointed, much like Riku's. I jumped slightly when I felt feathers brush against my bare back. When I looked to see what it was, I noticed that I now had a pair of dark gray, torn angel wings.

I moved them around a little, extremely tempted to jump into the air and test whether I could fly with them or not. I shook my head; these are way too small to fly with. Glancing around, I shivered slightly, "This place … it looks like a graveyard."

"I'll stay on the ship." Vincent closed the door behind him as he retreated back onto the ship. Sora crossed his arms and frowned, raising one eyebrow, "I thought for sure this would be the kind of place he'd like … or at least be interested in." Giggling, Kairi walked up next to Sora and shrugged.

Kairi wore a black corset top and a purple, knee-length skirt. The skirt had black spider webs crawling over the dark violet fabric. She wore black flats with fishnet stockings and carried a small wand. A giant black-and-purple witch's hat sat on her head, and two tiny black wings sprouted from her back. Two small fangs were underneath her upper lip, adding a creepy effect to her smile. All in all, it looked like her outfit was made to go with Sora's.

"Come on," Sora started walking to a creaky iron gate excitedly, "I know my way around here!" I glanced at Riku, who simply shrugged and started following Sora and Kairi, Mickey walking next to him. I paused for a moment, a little afraid of what we might find on the other side of that gate. _We're falling behind_, Kiri sighed as though she would have rolled her eyes at me if she could. When I ran after them, I noticed that a certain couple was holding hands. I giggled; Sora and Kairi were so cute together.

Then, without even thinking about it, as soon as I caught up with Riku, my fingers intertwined with his. Looking away, I blushed slightly. Without warning, he planted a soft, warm kiss on my cheek, chuckling as he pulled away.

When I looked back up at where we actually were, I grimaced. We were in the middle of an eerie, circle-shaped plaza that had an ominous black fountain in the middle with strange green water in it. _Well, isn't this inviting,_ Kiri said sarcastically.

We all looked at Sora, but Kairi was the first to say anything, "Well, now what? Is there anything in specific we're looking for?" Sora smiled, "The real Hikari, of course!" "But," she crossed her arms, "We don't really know what she looks like."

Tapping his foot, he put his finger to his temple, thinking, "I guess we'd have to find the girl Hikari is controlling and try to get her to tell us where the real one is." Riku sighed and shook his head, "Even if she were to tell us, since the real Hikari is controlling her, she'd basically be giving away her own location, so that probably won't work." Sora stuttered, "R-right, I knew that … of course I knew that." Mickey did his little giggle, "Of course you did."

Suddenly, the creaking of an old door echoed through the empty plaza. All of our eyes followed the sound. It was coming from a door at the top of some old stone stairs. A tall, lanky skeleton in a strange gray suit with a spider bowtie stepped through the door. Riku quirked an eyebrow as Sora ran to the skeleton, "Jack!" The skeleton's already wide smile grew, "Sora!" Kairi approached slowly, Mickey following close behind, "Um, Sora … who is this?" Sora waved Riku and me over and, while I was still hesitant, Riku gently pulled me along. When we stopped in front of … um … Jack, Riku stopped before me, his tail hitting my leg, "Ow." He looked over his shoulder at me, "What? Did you trip?"

I rolled my eyes and glanced pointedly at his tail. "Oh," he laughed nervously, "Sorry." I shook my head, "It's alright." Sora cleared his throat, calling mine and Riku's attention back to him. Then, he gestured to Jack, "This is Jack Skellington. Jack, this is Mickey, Riku, Hika, and, last but not least, Kairi." He pointed to all of us as he said our names.

Jack held his hands out in a grand, welcome-to-the-show gesture, "Welcome, welcome! You all look delightfully spooky! Would you like a grand tour?" We all looked at each other, then back at Sora, who was smiling ear to ear, "We should go see Santa!" Mickey giggled a little and Kairi half whispered, "You know he doesn't exist, right?" Riku just looked around, "We're in Halloween Town anyways. Even if he were real, he wouldn't be here." I tilted my head, "Sora, you're 19 years old and you still believe in Santa?"

Jack put his hands on his hips, "Well, why wouldn't he? Mr. Clause lives just past the graveyard after all. But, you know, he's really busy right now. Why don't we wait until later?" "So," Kairi said uncertainly, "Santa does exist?" Sora smiled at her and nodded, "Of course!"

I remembered when Riku and the others explained the concept of Santa Clause to me, and how he would deliver presents to all the nice boys and girls. Just thinking of the possibility of him actually existing made me smile. I tried, and probably failed at, hiding how excited I was. Riku chuckled and smiled down at me with a that-is-so-adorable look on his face. I blushed, "What?" He shook his head, still smiling at me like that, "Nothing at all."

"Come, come!" Jack turned and started walking toward the house he'd just walked out of, "I'll take you to see the doctor first." The others nodded and trailed behind him, I clung to Riku, still kind of apprehensive about this place. He looked down at me, his brow furrowed slightly, "What's wrong?" I blushed and looked away, frowning a little bit, "T-this place is … creepy." "Oh," he laughed, "That's all? It'll be fine." He squeezed my hand as we walked through the door into a little area with more stairs and another door at the top. He probably meant it to be comforting, but his sharp nails dug into the back of my hand slightly. I flinched and his eyes widened as he pulled his hand away, "Oh … sorry."

_Well,_ Kiri spoke up, _looks like you two won't be able to hold hands very easily here._ I pouted slightly, "You know what, Riku?"

"Hm?"

"This world sucks."

He chuckled just as we stepped through the other door and came into a room that looked like it belonged to a mad scientist. It looked like there was some sort of gurney in the center of the room, but I couldn't see what was on it because the others were in my line of sight. I probably didn't want to see anyways.

A strange … um, creature sat in a wheel chair near the gurney. His skin was white and looked like metal, and he wore a white lab coat. Next to him was a woman with orange hair and red lipstick who wore a dress that looked like it had been haphazardly sown together … in fact, she herself appeared to be sown together. Jack stood next to them, "This is the doctor, and this is Sally." Sally waved, but the doctor simply turned away, grumbling to himself. Then, he opened his head and scratched his brain.

I jumped back, screaming a little, and clutched onto Riku. Kairi let out a girly squeal and got behind Sora. Riku blinked, his eyes widening as he took a step back. Sora looked over his shoulder, then laughed, "Oh, that? Yeah, that's the doctor for you." I averted my eyes even as he closed his head. Kairi honestly looked like she was about to throw up. I heard a small moan come from somewhere near the gurney. Everyone looked over, but I still couldn't see anything. Suddenly, Riku gasped and stepped in front of me protectively.

"Oh, don't worry," Sally smiled, "She's almost healed. The doctor says she's fighting some strange infection, but so far she seems to be doing well." I stretched onto my tip toes, trying to see over Riku's shoulder. Feeling something brush against my feet, I looked down. Even Riku's tail was wrapped loosely around the base of my feet as if to protect me. I could barely see his face as he scowled, "Where did you find her?"

I rolled my eyes as I pried my way past Riku, stepping over his tail, "Her who?" My eyes widened when I saw Hikari … or, the girl Hikari was controlling laying on the gurney, breathing heavily. But something was different. The feeling of darkness that normally surrounded her, the terrified feeling that she normally set off in me, was gone. I walked toward her. "Hika, wait." Riku tried to stop me. "Hold on," I spared a quick glance over my shoulder, "she … she's different."

I stood next to the gurney and looked down at her. Everyone stared at me with odd looks on their faces. Moving to lay my hand on her forehead, I flinched when she jerked her head away. She was groaning and mumbling something to herself. I leaned over, putting my ear next to her mouth. Her voice was strained, "I-I don't want to-" she was cut off by a loud, pained groan that scratched its way up her throat.

Taking a deep breath, I reached out and touched her cheek. Her skin was burning up. I thought for a moment, practically whispering to myself, "Maybe she isn't fighting an infection. Hikari said that the little girl's soul was dead … and normally she wouldn't lie, but it would make sense if she lied about that. I mean, if she told the truth and this girl's soul really was alive, then she knows I would try to save her."

Riku touched my shoulder, "What are you talking about?" I shook my head, refocusing on my original point, "She's not fighting an infection … Hikari … no … the little girl is fighting Hikari's darkness." A thought crossed my mind; if she was only being controlled because she was infected with Hikari's darkness, then she shouldn't be any different than Riku and the others. I put my hand on her small chest, "I want to try something." I barely probed into her with my light, gently trying to pull her soul to the surface. Her eyes shot open, her pupils shrinking.

Then, she screamed.

NOTE: I've got some good news for my readers! I now have an account on Fiction Press. The problem is, I don't know which of my original stories to publish first! So, I need your help once again. I now have a poll on my profile that has a list of my novels and a brief summary of each. Please vote.


	22. Chapter 20: Akiko

**Ch. 20**

_**Akiko**_

The child's scream made Kiri recoil inside my mind.

Still, I kept my hand firmly planted on her chest, probing deeper inside her with my light. The Doctor shouted above her, "What are you doing?" But I kept going. Her screams became more and more frantic. Her soul … her soul … I had to find it.

I closed my eyes, focusing only on feeling for her soul. But everywhere I looked felt dark and cold. Behind me, I could hear the others talking. I shrugged it off; focus … I need to focus. Then Riku whispered in my ear, quiet enough so that only I could hear, "Come on, love, you know she's in there. If anyone can find her, it's you." Nodding, I took in a deep breath and pushed further. The deeper I delved the more desperate her screams became, until, finally, I reached her. Her soul was nothing but a small glimmer of light with barely any warmth to it.

"I found her," I whispered as I connected my light with hers, "I **found** her, Riku." I could barely hear his sigh of relief, "I knew you could. Now all you have to do is bring her back." I did as I was told, wrapping my light around hers as though wrapping a blanket around a baby and bringing her soul to the surface. An image of her came into my mind. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her face was buried in her knees as she sobbed and shook. A tear streamed down my cheek as her sadness, and pain tore at me and weighed my heart down like heavy chains.

I had to save her … I **had** to.

So I poured as much light as I could into her, practically praying that it was enough. Suddenly, her cries were cut off. My eyes bolted open, only to see a gasping, crying little girl. I glanced fearfully at Riku, terrified that I might have only made things worse. He beamed at me, so much pride and love in his eyes it was unbelievable. When I turned back to the little girl, she sat up and wrapped her arms around me tightly, like a child clinging to her mother. She wept and cried so hard I thought she might break in two. "I'm sorry!" she whimpered, her voice making it sound as if she were begging, "I'm so sorry!"

Her cries wrenched at my heart. Holding her in my arms, I spoke as softly as I could, "It's okay … it's okay, you did nothing wrong." The others crowded around, nervous looks on their faces, but Riku sat on the gurney next to her.

When the little girl finally calmed down, she pulled away from me slowly and looked around at the others. Her gaze stopped on Riku, who lifted his gloved hand and used the back of it to wipe away some of her tears. She flinched away slightly. He smiled gently at her, "It's alright. I won't do anything to hurt you. What's your name?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, puckering out her lower lip in a slight pout before looking back up at Riku with a shy smile, "Akiko …" she frowned, "… I think … maybe?" The others still had strange looks on their faces, but Kairi relaxed, "Well, maybe is good enough for me." She held her hand out to Akiko and smiled warmly, "Hello, Akiko."

Akiko glimpsed at me, like she was asking me if it was alright to shake her hand. I nodded, and Akiko timidly took Kairi's hand. Moments later, everyone was laughing and talking to Akiko as if they'd known her forever. The thing was, it didn't seem strange at all. She still looked the same, but she was completely different; her smiles were shy and sweet, and her eyes shined with such pure innocence that I couldn't help but to feel at ease just looking at her.

I stood next to the Doctor, leaning against his desk. Again, he opened his head and scratched his brain. I cringed away, but he paid no mind. "I don't understand," he slammed his head shut, "I tried everything and couldn't fix her." Frowning, I sighed, "Of course not. A human being isn't something you can just 'fix'."

"But you just did!"

"No, no, I didn't … she may look happy right now, but that doesn't mean anything. Inside she's probably a mess of emotions. She's not like one of your experiments that you can just sew together and call a success."

"How do you know about my experiments?"

I looked around at his scalpels, test tubes, and other strange odds and ends. When my gaze came to rest on him once again, I quirked an eyebrow, "It was just a guess." "Bah!" the Doctor threw his hands up before rolling off toward a giant book he had sitting on one of his desks, as if to say, _I'm done with this!_ I shook my head and shrugged.

"Hey, Hika," Riku walked over and leaned on the desk next to me, "are you okay?" I did feel a little tired, but I'd come to expect that kind of thing after performing a Purity. I grinned at him, "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled at me tenderly before peeking at Akiko, "We're going to have to ask her if she can remember anything about where Hikari might be." I shrunk back a little, "I know … but can't we wait just a little bit longer?" He leaned over, speaking quietly into my ear, "I'm afraid not. Look around … do you notice anyone missing?" My eyes scanned the room before locking onto Riku's, "Sora and Jack?"

"They're outside," he whispered, "they're fighting off infected Soul Eaters. Apparently the Soul Eaters arrived after you saved Akiko." I nodded, probably looking calm even though my heart was going a mile an hour, "That makes sense. We did just take the one person from Hikari that she could use to fight without putting herself at risk."

He nodded and turned back to the others, "It's time to go, Akiko." She looked at him for a moment, confused. I kneeled down next to her, "It isn't safe here." She pouted, but didn't say a word when I took her hand and led her out of the Doctor's house with the Conductor ready. Riku followed closely behind, holding his keyblade. Before we stepped out of the second door, I glanced over my shoulder, "We just got here; are we really leaving?" He shook his head, "We're going to the ship. Chip and Dale installed some sort of shield while we were gone, so it'll be safer there."

I thought for a moment. Akiko was probably still a little weak from before, so if we ran immediately, she wouldn't be able to keep up. I got down on my knees and looked over my shoulder at her, "Get on my back." She did as she was told without even a word of protest. Then, I ran through the door.

As soon as the door closed behind us, one of the infected Soul Eaters launched itself at me. I quickly aimed and pulled the trigger, sending the Soul Eater flying. Sora and Kairi looked back at me and smiled. They started running toward the graveyard we'd landed in. I couldn't count how many Soul Eaters I had to shoot down as we ran toward the ship. By the time we actually reached it, we were all exhausted.

We stepped onto the ship only to see Vincent sitting in one of the seats in the cockpit. His arms were crossed on his chest and his head was hanging down slightly. I quirked an eyebrow as I walked over to him. Sora peeked over my shoulder, "Is he actually asleep?"

I glanced at him, smiling, before looking back at Vincent, "I think so." Sora laughed a little and crossed his arms, "I didn't think he slept." Riku rolled his eyes, "He's only human." Sora frowned at him, "That's not what I meant!"

"Guys," I whispered. They both looked at me. I put my finger to my lips, "Shh!" I turned back to Vincent, but he was already awake. He looked at me and then the others, "I didn't expect you to be back so soon." Kairi and Mickey giggled, but Akiko stayed quiet. In fact, she looked like she was trying to hide behind Riku. Still, Vincent saw her and as soon as he did, he stood and got out his gun. She flinched away.

I stepped in front of him defiantly, "Stop! She … she's not Hikari anymore." His eyes narrowed at me, "How can you be sure?" My brow furrowed and I stepped closer to him, making the barrel of Cerberus press against my chest, between my collar bones, "I purified her myself. Hikari's darkness is no longer inside this girl."

Still, he didn't move for the longest time. Actually, nobody moved. The tension in the air was so thick that I felt as though I would suffocate. He glared at me before looking over my shoulder at Akiko. As he looked at her his gaze began to soften little by little. I spoke up, "Her name is Akiko." Vincent finally put away the Cerberus, walked over to a nearby wall, and leaned against it, "Fine."

I heard Riku chuckle behind me so I peeked over my shoulder. I couldn't help but chuckle as well when I saw the adorable, determined looked on Akiko's face. She took in a deep breath and ran to Vincent, clutching onto his cape when she reached him. He gave her an odd look … in fact everyone had that curious look on their faces. She continued to stare at the ground until she finally looked up, her expression slightly stubborn and kind of scared. She practically shouted at him, "I'M SORRY!" His brow creased. While he might have meant the expression as a question asking, 'what are you sorry for', it clearly frightened her, because she shrunk back slightly. Still, she continued, "Last time I saw you I shot you with your own bullet! And I've caused you so much pain and trouble!"

Everyone looked at Vincent expectantly now, but he simply scoffed, "That bullet didn't hit me … and besides, that wasn't you."

"But-"

"You don't have to apologize to anyone." Sora interrupted her before looking at Vincent, "Almost as soon as she woke up she started apologizing to all of us." Vincent chuckled a little, then looked down at Akiko, "Akiko, right?" She nodded and he continued, "Do you remember anything from when Hikari was controlling you?" I sighed; he sure doesn't waste any time, does he? Evidently Riku was thinking the same thing, because he chuckled and shook his head lightly.

She thought long and hard, "A little …the most I remember is from when I met Hika up to now." Sora rolled his eyes, "Let her rest, at least a little bit, before you go asking her questions."

"No!" Akiko shook her head vehemently, making Kairi giggle. But Akiko persisted, "Ask anything!" Vincent shook his head right back at her, only more calmly, "He's right. Rest a little while longer, then we'll talk." She gave up and nodded.

As I watched them I couldn't help but notice how similar they were. Their skin was the same pallor and their hair the same color and texture. I nudged Riku, "Am I the only one that thinks Akiko looks like she could be Vincent's child?" Riku looked at them for a moment, then glanced back at me, "No, she does … speaking of child, where's ours?" We both glanced at Vincent.

"He's in one of the rooms sleeping." Vincent answered matter-of-factly. Kairi raised her hand, "Mickey and I can go check on him." I tried to stop them, to tell them to let Yui sleep, but they were already down the hall. I sighed, completely exhausted, and Riku patted my shoulder as if to comfort me.

Sora stretched and plopped down in the chair that Vincent had been sleeping in, "We never did find out what that Nightmare meant." Suddenly Akiko gasped, "So it really reached you?" Everyone's faces went blank as we starred at her. "Uh," I stuttered, "y-yeah. Why? How do you know about it?" She looked up at me, "That's awesome! I can't believe it actually reached you!" She threw her hands into the air, "Yay! I really did! I can't believe I was actually able to do it!" Riku's eyes widened, "What?" I kneeled down in front of her so that I could look her in the eye more easily, "You sent me that? How? Why?"

All of a sudden, her expression turned serious, "I sent it to you … as a warning."


	23. Chapter 21: Her Warning

**Ch. 21**

_**Her Warning**_

"Warning?" Vincent looked at her, his brow creased, "What do you mean?" Placing my hands on Akiko's shoulders, I looked into her eyes, "What were you trying to warn me about?" She looked away suddenly, seeming like she was almost afraid to tell me, "I-I don't want to …" Then she looked around at everyone else.

_What's wrong with her?_ Kiri asked, _why does she look so scared?_ I sighed and glanced over my shoulder at Riku, as if asking him to help me. Riku smiled and looked at Sora, Mickey, and Vincent. They took the hint and left the room, Mickey looking over his shoulder, "I'll feed Makodo for you, Riku." "Thanks!" Riku called after him. Sora was the last one to leave, casting a worried glance in our direction before disappearing down the hall.

Still, Akiko wouldn't say anything. Again, I looked over my shoulder at Riku. He smiled gently and sighed. Then he gave me a warm kiss on the cheek before heading down the hall as well.

This time when I looked back at Akiko, she looked as though she were about to cry, "They … they're going to die." My heart skipped and my eyes widened, "What?" "You have to go back!" she begged, desperately clinging to the collar of my shirt, "Go back to the islands! Please!"

"Why?"

"If you keep going after Hikari, all of you will die! Please, just go back! If you go back to Destiny islands now, your light will be able to protect everyone on the islands! You'll be happy!"

For a moment, we were silent. My heart was racing. What was I supposed to say? If I went back now, everyone would be safe … but would they smile? Would Riku smile? Would he be happy? I took in a deep breath and smiled as warmly as I could at her, "No … I can't. Maybe I would be happy if I returned to the islands now … in fact, I'm sure I'd be happy. But, Akiko … I'm essentially a very selfish person. I know that. Even though I've already chosen to unlock my light, I still told Riku that I'd marry him, simply because I love him and wanted to see him smile. I would be happier being able to see Riku with all of his friends and if I went back now I wouldn't be able to see that."

Her head tilted slightly, "Why not?" I sighed and got up, walking over to one of the chairs with her hand in mine. Sitting down, I pulled her into my lap, "Kairi and Sora live on the islands with him, but what about Mickey? What about Cloud and the others on Radiant Garden? On top of that, if I don't release my light, the worlds will remain separate and Riku will still be trapped on the islands."

She was quiet for a long time before she looked at me again, "You've already made up your mind?" I nodded at her and she sighed, "Well, I was trying to warn you about something else, too … her snake."

I smiled at her, "That snake wasn't very big. There's nothing to worry about." She shook her head vigorously, "No! There **is** something to worry about! Her real snake is bigger! Much bigger! I … I just …" Stroking the back of her head, I tried my best to be comforting, "What? What is it?" Her expression showed how scared she was of how I would react, "I'd barely been able to get enough strength to fight against Hikari … if I'd shown you how big her snake really is … you might not have kept going. Then you wouldn't have found me, and you wouldn't have helped me get free of her."

_It's understandable,_ Kiri admitted, _I'm honestly surprised that she was able to even fight against Hikari._ I nodded and hugged Akiko tightly, "That's nothing to be ashamed of. You wanted to be free, and this was the only chance you would have gotten. And besides, even when you were trying to get away from her, you still tried to save me. You're a truly wonderful girl, Akiko."

She let out something that was a mix between a giggle and a sob and buried her face in my shoulder. I stayed like that with her until she fell asleep, then I picked her up and carried her back to the room that Riku and I had been staying in before. When I came into the room, I found Riku waiting for me. He stood immediately, looking worried, "Hika." I grinned at him, layed her down on the bed, and told him everything she'd told me. But, when I told him why I decided to keep going instead of returning to Destiny Islands, I lied. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him that I what I was planning. Instead I told him that I didn't want to save only the islands, but the other worlds as well, and to do that I had to get rid of Hikari … I mean, that was true, so it wasn't really a lie … it just wasn't the whole truth.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, "Good choice, love. I would have done the same." Without even meaning to, his words cut into me. I flinched back slightly, and, sure enough, he noticed. He looked me in the eyes, obviously concerned, "What's wrong, love?" I strained to keep he smile on my face, "It's nothing … I was just …" I paused, trying to think of something, "… just worried about what she'd said about what would happen if I keep going."

He lifted my chin with his forefinger, "We'll be fine, love … remember, we made a promise … we **are **going to make it back to the islands, **together**." The conviction in his voice made me want to believe him so badly. He pressed his lips tenderly to mine and we lost ourselves in the kiss, but, within moments, we were interrupted.

Vincent walked into the room and Riku and I pulled away immediately. For one long, excruciatingly awkward moment, we all just stood there. Vincent finally turned away, clearing his throat a bit, then looked over his shoulder, "Mickey has something he needs to tell you … he's in the engine room." He silently walked out of the room, leaving Riku and me alone with the sleeping Akiko once again. Riku glanced at Akiko, "Will she be okay alone?" I smiled and nodded. She was probably so exhausted from what had happened to her that she'd just sleep anyway.

Riku took my hand and led me down the hallway to the engine room. We froze at the door. Thick black smoke hung in the air, and Chip and Dale were running around frantically, carrying all sorts of gadgets and screwdrivers to the engine, but Vincent was calmly leaning against the wall next to the door. Mickey, however, was nowhere to be found. Riku looked around before turning to Vincent, "Where is he?" Vincent's reply was simple, "In the engine."

"What?" my eyes widened, "In the engine? Why? How?" Dale answered as he ran by, "The shield we installed malfunctioned! He climbed in through a special shaft that we built into the engine!" Chip and Dale seemed to have a little system going, because they kept running across the same areas on the floor. I slowly backed away from where they were running, nervous about the talking rodents being anywhere near my feet. Kiri scoffed, _wimp_. Riku quirked a brow, "Malfunctioned?" Then Chip ran by, "It's on the fritz because the circuits didn't connect quite right!"

"I'll be out in a second!"

I jumped at the sound of Mickey's voice coming from a small opening at my feet. Riku laughed quietly, and even Vincent stifled a chuckle. I blushed, crossed my arms, and looked away. Riku just wrapped his arm around my waist and gave me that you're-so-adorable look. I couldn't help but smile at him.

After some time had passed, I gave Riku a tight hug before turning and walking out the door, "I'll go get Sora and Kairi so we can tell them what Akiko said about the nightmare." I ran down the hall to the room that Kairi and Sora were staying in only to find it empty. Crossing my arms, I looked around for a second, then headed further down the hall, glancing into each room as I passed. I stopped when I caught a glimpse of Sora and Kairi sitting next to each other, Makodo and Yui sleeping on the bed opposite them.

When I stepped into the room, Kairi smiled up at me, "Yui hasn't woken up once since we got here, and Makodo fell asleep after Mickey fed him." Sora stood up and looked at me expectantly, "Well … what did Akiko say?"

I sighed, "That's what I came to talk to you guys about … sort of." Sora gave me a puzzled look that made Kiri laugh, _of course he would make a face like that._ I giggled a little bit, and when Kairi looked up at Sora, she joined in. He put his hands on his hips and looked at me suspiciously, "What are you laughing at? Huh? Huh?" It took me a second to regain my composure, but when I did, I just shook my head, "Just come on. Everyone else is in the engine room." They glanced at each other and shrugged before following me out the door.

I frowned when we got there. Apparently there was still something wrong with the shields, and now Riku was gone. Vincent automatically knew what I was thinking, "He's outside trying to keep the Soul Eaters away from the ship." Sora's head tilted slightly, "Why? What about the shields?" I sighed, "Evidently there's something wrong with the shield's circuits."

"Okay," Kairi crossed her arms, "now can you tell us what Akiko said?" I thought for a moment; I could tell them, but I didn't want to have to explain it all over again when Mickey was finally finished with the engine. So, I shook my head, "Not until Mickey comes out."

He called out from inside the engine again, "Go ahead; I can hear you from in here." I sighed heavily as everyone's eyes rested keenly on me. Honestly, I didn't want to explain anything. I already felt bad enough about lying to Riku about what I had planned, now I had to lie to the others as well … at least, if Riku explained it, I wouldn't feel like I was lying all over again. But I had no choice. I told them exactly what I'd told Riku.

By the time I finished, Mickey had crawled out of the engine and was giving me a meaningful look, as if he knew something was off. Still, he didn't say anything. Vincent was the first to speak up, "I thought so. Akiko was trying to stop you so that nothing would happen to you." "But," Sora crossed his arms, "She wanted you to at least find her, so she downplayed the size of Hikari's snake?" I nodded. Kairi grinned at me, "Well, so long as you're willing to keep going, so are we!" I smiled back at her, "Thank you, all of you." Then, I glanced around the room at everyone else, who all nodded as I looked at them.

There was a sudden, light humming sound that came from deep within the engine just before Chip and Dale came out of it. They saluted at Mickey and said in unison, "The shields are back up!" Vincent pushed himself off the wall, "I'll go get Riku." Mickey nodded at him and we all watched as he walked out of the room.

Crossing my arms, I cocked my head slightly, "That man is … what's the word I'm looking for?" I thought for a moment, but came up blank. I knew the perfect word to describe him, I just couldn't remember it for the life of me. Everyone else was deep in thought about it as well. Suddenly, Sora snapped his fingers, "Enigmatic!" "Yeah!" Kairi smiled, "That's the perfect word for him! I can never tell what he's thinking." I scoffed a little bit and decided to tease Sora, "I'm surprised you even know that word, Sora." Mickey giggled, but Sora gave me a stubborn look, "I'm not that dumb!"

I raised my eyebrows, "Then what does it mean?" He crossed his arms across his chest and smiled proudly, "Mysterious." "Aw," I said, using a tone that some one would normally use for a baby, "little Sora can use big words now." Sora scowled, "Hey!" Kairi patted him on the back, trying to hide her smile, "Come on, don't tease him too much." The whole time Kiri didn't stop laughing.

"What did I miss?" Riku walked in, Vincent close behind. I grinned widely at him, "Sora learned how to use smart words." Riku chuckled lightly, "Well, that's a first. Did you explain what happened to them?" My smile fell a fraction, but I still nodded. Riku sighed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders comfortingly as he turned to Mickey, "There was something you wanted to tell us?"

"Yes," Mickey began, "I think I might know where Hikari is." That caught my attention really quick, "What? Where?" He answered immediately, "Radiant Garden." "That doesn't make sense." Sora scowled. Kairi spoke up, "He's right; we've already been there. If she were in Radiant Garden we would have found her by now."

"That's not necessarily true," Riku interjected, "we were there, but we weren't looking for Hikari at the time. And we didn't even go to the old Hallow Bastion Castle." Mickey nodded, "That's were I think she is. After all, that's where the true light and true darkness were first released." Vincent looked up, "Then that's as good a place to start as any." Chip and Dale saluted once more, "We'll chart a course for Radiant Garden immediately!"

Then they headed out the door to the control room.


	24. Chapter 22: Stuck

**Ch. 22**

_**Stuck**_

I decided to get some rest while we were on our way to Radiant Garden and headed back to the room that Riku and I had been sharing. Akiko was still asleep, but now she was rolled up in the covers like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Kiri and I giggled as I fell back onto the other bed. Only then did I notice that I was back to the way I was before we landed on Halloween Town. _I guess you guys only change like that when you aren't on the ship_, Kiri sighed. I got under the covers and turned onto my side, facing away from Akiko, "I guess so."

Just as I was falling asleep, something suddenly nudged my leg, followed by small whines. I moaned and rolled over. It was Makodo and Yui. Yui still had his hand on my leg, and his face was streaked with tiny tears, _Can I sleep with you, Mama?_ I smiled, "Sure. Did you have a bad dream?" Yui climbed in the bed as I lifted the covers for him. He cuddled close against my chest, _Mm-hm_. Kiri thought quietly to herself, _Even if he is a Soul Eater, he's still a child. _I wrapped my arms around him, "What happened?"

He shuddered, _I dreamt that my brother, Fai, got hurt._ My arms tightened around Yui and I searched my mind for something, anything that might stop Yui's shaking. But in the end, I couldn't stop my curiosity, "What was Fai like? I mean, before you were Soul Eaters."

_He was really nice_, Yui looked up at me with a faint smile, _We were always together! People called us the unhappy twins, but only because, where we come from, twins are considered a bad omen._

"What world are you from?"

_Tsubasa. It's a world made up of a bunch dimensions and things like that. My brother only ever got to see our home dimension, Seresu, though. He was turned into a Soul Eater when we were really little … but then …_

Completely sucked into the story of his past, I urged him on, "But then, what?" His smile widened to his usual, childish grin, _I met this group of travelers! We went from one dimension to another, trying to get a girl's memory back! It was hard, but we had a lot of fun. And you know what? I came up with nicknames for us once! There was Big Cat, me, and Little Cat, the girl. The other two were Big Dog, a man who usually dressed in black and was really grumpy, and Little Dog, a boy that was blind in one eye._

"Wait," I stopped Yui, "You're not fooling me, are you? It sounds cool and all, but you're just a child." Yui gave me a weird look and Kiri laughed a little, _No, when he was turned, he was probably an adult. When someone becomes a Soul Eater, they revert to what they were like as a child because, other than the true light itself, children have the purest light of all._ I nodded slowly, "That makes sense, I guess. Oh," I looked down at Yui, "speaking of dogs, how did you get Makodo back to us when we were on Radiant Garden?" Makodo raised his head from where he was lying near the bed and cocked it to the side slightly. Yui shrugged, "I don't know; I just kinda did it."

A small chuckle came from the door, "I think I can help answer that." I looked up to see Riku leaning against the door frame. He walked over to the bed, stepping over Makodo as he did, and sat on the edge, "Do you remember when I told you about the portals of darkness that the organization used?" I nodded and he continued, "I was there when Yui brought Makodo back, and it looked almost exactly like what the organization did to get from place to place. The only difference was that Yui used light."

Riku patted Yui on the head, and Yui smiled proudly. I looked up at him, "Riku, do you think I would be able to do that?" He thought for a moment, "Well, you're a Soul Eater, too, so I would think you'd be able to … if you learned how. It would probably take a while, though." Kiri gave a mental nod, _yeah, it would take too long. We don't have that kind of time._ I sighed heavily, "Kiri says we don't have time for that."

"Aww!" Kairi suddenly leaned around the side of the door and peered into the room, "This would make such a cute family picture!" Then Sora leaned out from around the other side, "Yup!" A bright flash filled the room and, when it was gone, Sora was standing in the door way with a small digital camera.

Yui was still dazed from the flash, as was I, and Makodo growled a little, but Riku simply shook his head, "Where did you get that?" Kairi started laughing all of a sudden, nudging Sora with her elbow, "Yeah, Sora, tell them where you got it." Sora shrugged, "It was in one of the rooms." Again, Riku shook his head. I sat up and rolled my eyes, "You know you shouldn't do that; it probably belongs to Mickey." Riku crossed his arms coolly, "That means you stole from a king." Kiri giggled.

Yui sat up and looked past Sora, _Cape Man!_ I followed Yui's gaze to see Vincent standing behind Sora. He cleared his throat, and everyone's eyes shot to him. Vincent held out his hand, "That's mine." The room went dead quiet until Sora handed the camera to Vincent, saying what everyone was thinking, "Why do **you** have a **camera**?" Vincent looked away, "Yuffie said she never got to leave Radiant Garden before, other than going to Travers Town, so she wanted me to take pictures."

Kairi laughed, "Seriously?" Vincent nodded as he tucked the camera away in one of his pockets, "I believe her exact words were 'it's not fair that you get to go' then she just handed me the camera and told me to 'make some memories'."

Riku quirked an eyebrow, "Make some memories?" Vincent crossed his arms, "I think she got it from a book she was reading; something called Loveless." I sighed, "Well, that's not a very good title … it's actually a little depressing." "That reminds me," Vincent straightened out, getting an all-business look on his face, "The King said that we aren't going to be able to go anywhere for a while."

"What? We're stuck here?" Kairi whined, "Why?" "I'm not sure," he admitted, "Something with the engine again. Evidently they messed up something else when they fixed the shield." I sighed and closed my eyes, flopping back on the bed, "What are we supposed to do until it's fixed?" Sora crossed his arms, "It's too dangerous to go outside with all those Soul Eaters." Kairi nodded grimly, "Hikari's really mad … I mean, we did just take Akiko from her, so she's bound to send even more infected Soul Eaters after us."

I peeked out of the corner of my eye at Akiko, who was still sleeping peacefully. Kiri scoffed, _Looks like she can sleep through anything._ Suddenly, Riku let out a light gasp. I sat up again and looked at him, "What? What is it?" He glanced down at me, "Do you remember what happened with the Soul Eaters in Wonderland and Radiant Garden? How they were draining the light from those worlds and slowly killing them?" I nodded, "Yeah, what about it?"

"There are more Soul Eaters here in Halloween Town than there were in those worlds," he glanced around at the others before looking back at me, "wouldn't that mean that they might be doing the same thing to this world, only worse?" Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then, Vincent turned and started walking away, "I'll go tell the king." Kairi and Sora sat on the edge of Akiko's bed. Kairi leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees and supporting her head with her hands, "But what are we supposed to do here? We only figured out how to get rid of the infected Soul Eaters on those worlds because we found out what was drawing them there."

Sora looked at the floor, "Yeah, for Radiant Garden it was because they were looking for you, and in Wonderland it was because Lea was there."

"We know they're here because we took Akiko from Hikari," Riku said, deep in thought, "They would probably leave if we did, but we can't leave right now, not with the engine the way it is."

"A lot of them were here before you were." Akiko suddenly sat up, still looking a little sleepy, "Some of them were even here before I was." My brow creased, "Why?" She stared down at her hands, which were lying limply in her lap, "I remember, just before I started trying to fight her and gain control, I caught a glimpse of what she was thinking. She said that something is connecting this world to Radiant Garden, and that if she didn't get rid of it, it would lead you guys straight to her."

Yui tugged harshly on my blouse, _Mama! Mama!_ My gaze shifted to him, "What is it, Yui?" _I know what it is! I know what's connecting them!_ He smiled excitedly at me, _it's Nel!_ I cocked an eyebrow, "Nel? You mean that little girl Soul Eater that we met in Wonderland?" He nodded, _Nel and me, we're the last two Soul Eaters that aren't infected or captured by Hikari, so we've been talking. She said she was going to hold open a portal for the uninfected Soul Eaters in Hikari's captivity to escape through._

"Um … Hika?"

I glanced up to see Riku looking at me expectantly. I sighed, "This would be a lot easier if you guys could hear Yui too." Kiri giggled, _Join the club. Back when I was with Lea he would always get annoyed when I was talking to one of the Soul Eaters and he couldn't hear what was going on._

So, I spent the next couple minutes explaining to the others what Yui had just said to me. After I finished, Sora put his hands out in front of him, "Hold on, hold on. Didn't she pass on with the other Soul Eaters when you … you know."

I smiled at him, though the smile must have looked bitter sweet, "When I killed Lea?" Everyone got quiet but I just sighed. _It feels like it was so long ago, _Kiri thought, _but I guess it's still a tender subject._ "Well," I started, trying to distract the others from Lea's death, "Cheshire said that if a Soul has something it still needs to do, then it won't pass on. I didn't think she did, but, who knows? Maybe she did." Yui looked at me, _she's like me._ I scooted to the edge of the bed, letting my legs dangle over the side, then pulled Yui into my lap, "What do you mean, she's like you?"

_She used to be a grown up too, _Yui played with the hem of my shirt, _she's also looking for someone, but she told me who yet._ I thought for a moment, then smiled widely at Yui before looking up at the others, "Nel is missing something … someone. I'm going to ask her who." The others all nodded, staying silent so that I could concentrate. I sighed and whispered inwardly to Kiri, "Alright, Kiri, I might need some help with this; I haven't done it since we were in Wonderland."

She gave a mental nod, _it's simple; you just need to call out to her._ I shrugged, "Alright … Nel!" Everyone stared at me for a few seconds, strange expressions on their faces. Kiri laughed, _No, call out to her with your light. You know, like that time before when we couldn't find Yui in Wonderland._ I giggled nervously, feeling kind of stupid for having actually called out to her, "R-right."

I closed my eyes, and reached out with my light, searching for Nel. She responded almost immediately, as if she were waiting for me, _Mama? Mama! It's been so long!_

_Nel,_ I silently spoke to her, trying to calm her down, _where are you? Why didn't you pass on with the others?_ For a moment, she kept quiet and when she finally said something, she sounded like a child who'd just been scolded for doing something bad, _I'm in Santa's work shop._ I giggled, _Santa's work shop? Why there?_

_I knew Hikari would never think to look in a place like this,_ she answered simply. Even as lost in my thoughts as I was, I could feel the smile playing at the corners of my mouth, _you clever little child. Just stay there and keep the connection between this world and Radiant Garden open. We'll be there in a moment._

_Mama?_

_Yes?_

_I didn't pass on because I wanted to see you again … I wanted to wait for you so I could help you beat Hikari … I'm sorry if you wanted to me to pass on._

With just that one statement, a lump formed at the back of my throat and a half-sob, half-giggle escaped me. She was just like Yui. I whispered softly to her, unintentionally saying it aloud as well, "It's alright, Nel … and thank you for waiting for me." I could practically feel the happiness rolling off of her soul.

I opened my eyes only to see Riku kneeling in front of me, obviously concerned, "Hika, what's wrong?" –he wiped a tear from my cheek- "Is Nel okay?"

I smiled and put my hand on his, "Yes, she's fine. She's waiting for us."

Then I stood and looked around the room, feeling a strange surge of confidence, "Well … we aren't stuck here after all … Nel's holding open a path to Hikari for us. She's giving us a chance to finally defeat the darkness; let's not waste it."

NOTE: Yui's past didn't have much to do with the actual story, but I thought that I'd put that in there for all the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles fans out there and I also decided to put something in there for the Loveless fans as well. I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, and one more thing, if I'm going to publish any original stories, I would really like to get more votes for which one I should write on the poll on my profile.


	25. Chapter 23: Mickey's Secret

**Ch. 23**

_**Mickey's Secret**_

Vincent and I sat in my room on the ship cleaning our guns and making sure they were ready. _Well,_ Kiri shifted around inside my mind, _this isn't awkward at all._ I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

Sora had already explained everything that Vincent and Mickey missed, so all that was left was to make sure we had everything ready. Riku and Sora were checking the supplies, Mickey was finishing fixing the ship so that we could leave as soon as everything was over, and Kairi was watching Yui and Makodo.

Not everyone was going. Only Riku, Mickey, Sora, and I were going to face Hikari. Kairi was going to stay behind to make sure Yui and Makodo would be alright … more specifically, she was going to make sure Yui kept in constant contact with Nel so that he could tell Nell when to open and close the path to Hikari's hiding place. Vincent was going to stay with the ship so that he could fend off any infected Soul Eaters that might attack.

Vincent put his gun down beside him, "Hika." A little startled at the sudden break in silence, I jumped and looked up at him worriedly, "W-what? Is something wrong?" He gave me a strange look for a moment before chuckling a little bit, "I wanted to tell you to be careful."

My mind went blank. Was he worried? Someone as cool and collected as Vincent? He sat in silence, his red eyes shifting from me to the window. _Wake up!_ Kiri shouted inside my head, _Say something or he'll just worry more!_ I shook my head, as if trying to wake myself up, then smiled, "Thank you, and I will." I finished cleaning the Conductor and put it in its holster, then strapped the holster to my thigh. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and headed out the door, "I'll go see if the others are ready, then we'll go."

"Hika," I looked back at Vincent, who was now standing up and giving me a worried looked, "Are you sure you'll be alright?" My heart suddenly skipped a beat and my smile fell. _Oh,_ Kiri sighed, _he knows … he knows what you're planning._ I closed my eyes for a second, trying to regain my composure. When I opened them again, I smiled as convincingly as I could, "Yes, Vincent, I'll be just fine." As I turned away, I felt a deep, bitter sadness in the pit of my stomach. This would be the last time I'd be able to see him, Kairi, Makodo, and Yui.

Only moments later, we were ready to leave. Riku, Sora, Mickey, and I were just outside the ship. Despite the fact that I'd accepted what would happen as soon as we defeated Hikari, I still felt … uneasy. I kept that fake smile on the whole time. Riku and the others wielded their keyblades. Kairi gave me a tight hug, "Come back safe." For a second, my smile faltered, "Y-yeah." She then turned to Sora and grinned, "You come back safe too, okay?" Sora smirked, "Of course!" Before we turned to leave I waved to them, "Good bye … take care."

We walked through the small graveyard to the woods that were just behind where we had landed the ship. As soon as we entered, we had to fight the infected Soul Eaters. Somehow, we managed to make it to the Christmas tree shaped door that led to Christmas Town.

When we stepped through the door, we were greeted by bright, white snow and shining Christmas lights. I looked around in wonder. We stood atop a hill that had just one tree on it. "Wow," I gaped, "this is … wow." Mickey giggled and Sora laughed, but Riku kept quiet. Sora crossed his arms, "Well, apparently Nel was right about Hikari not expecting her to be here. I don't even see one infected Soul Eater." Mickey nodded, "Yeah, but … look at all of them!"

Just down the hill, there were countless numbers of Soul Eaters, and thankfully none of them were infected. I let out a small sigh of relief, "These must be the Soul Eaters that Nel was able to get away from Hikari." Suddenly, Sora gasped and looked at me as if something incredibly amazing had occurred to him, "Santa!" Mickey and I laughed as we watched Sora make his way to an area that had a small green sign trimmed with candy canes that said 'Candy Cane Lane'. Kiri let out a mental sigh, _Keeping up with him is exhausting_. I giggled, and Riku took my hand in his and started following Sora, Mickey close behind.

As we walked across Candy Cane Lane Riku gave me a sideways glance, "Why?" I quirked an eyebrow at him, "Why what?" He sighed, "Why did you say goodbye to them like that? You made it sound like you wouldn't see them again." The grin that I'd been wearing since we left the ship fell, "What do you mean?" Kiri perked up a little, _I think Nel's nearby. _He frowned, but before he could say anymore one of the Soul Eaters tugged on his pants, _Nel's waiting for you. I can show you where she is._ Riku looked at me and raised an eyebrow. I laughed quietly and nodded, "Follow the Soul Eater."

The Soul Eater led us into a building that was quite obviously Santa's workshop. _I'm going to rest a while,_ Kiri informed me, _don't be offended if I don't talk to you._ Rolling my eyes, I nodded inwardly. I watched as Santa's elves shot back and forth throughout the workshop carrying toys and small gadgets. The little Soul Eater led us into the room that I assumed was used to make toys and up a couple ramps to a red door, then stopped, _Right through here is the gift wrapping room. She's waiting in there._ I took a deep breath and nodded, "Thank you."

We stepped through the door, only to be blinded by a bright light. I called out to Nel. _Mama?_ Her tiny voice resounded in my head just as the light started to dim, _Mama, are you here?_ "Yes," I answered, "could you turn down the light, please?" She giggled and the light went out. My eyes adjusted quickly, revealing a large room with wrapped presents scattered all over the floor and a strange contraption along the far wall that seemed to be making gingerbread men cookies. I sniffed the air, enjoying the delightful aroma … that is, until Nel ran up to me and tackled me to the ground, _Mama!_ The others chuckled quietly.

I rolled my eyes and sat up, "Hey Nel. What was that light?" She laughed, _It was the doorway that I made to connect this world to Radiant Garden, silly. What else would it be?_ I shrugged, "Well, can you do that again?" Her happy mood disappeared, _I could, but I was going to close it soon anyways because Hikari was starting to catch on. I won't be able to open it again for at least another day._ I sighed, "Alright; after fighting the infected Soul Eaters in Halloween Town we need a rest anyways." Turning to Riku, Sora, and Mickey, I smiled, secretly relieved, "We can rest until tomorrow. Then Nel will hold open the door to Radiant Gardens for us." Riku and Mickey simply nodded, but Sora ran directly to the gingerbread man machine and stared happily at them.

After a while Sora settled down, and actually ended up falling asleep. Mickey and Riku, on the other hand, were busy making plans on how they would handle Hikari's attacks. I had my light, but their keyblades were no match for her darkness. I couldn't help them very much though, so I just sat back against one of the walls with Nel sitting in my lap.

_Are you listening, Mama?_ Nel suddenly pulled lightly on my hair. I blinked a couple time, as if coming out of a daze, "Sorry, I was just a little distracted. What were you saying?" She giggled, _I wanted to tell you where I came from!_ I nodded and smiled apologetically, "Sorry about that; I guess I've got a lot on my mind. Go on; I'm listening now." She bounced in my lap excitedly, _I'm from a world called Karakura Town. It has three different worlds; the Precipice World, the Soul Society, and Karakura Town itself. I used to travel through the Precipice World with my two brothers and our pet. Then I ran into a guy named Ichigo and his three buddies. We went through a lot together, and we all came out alright … until Hikari came._

She suddenly started looking like she was about to cry, so I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug. She sniffled, _If I hadn't done anything … she would have gotten Ichigo and my other friends._ My curiosity got the best of me, "What happened?" Looking up at me, she wiped a tear from her cheek, _Do you know how she turns people into Soul Eaters?_ I shook my head and she continued, _She takes all of the darkness out of them so that she gets stronger, and then she throws away the body, leaving only the soul._

"Wait; what do you mean?" my brow furrowed, and I looked deep into Nel's eyes, "Does the body and soul really need darkness to survive?" She nodded, _yeah, you have to have a good balance of darkness and light. Every human has a little bit of darkness in them; it's the only thing separating them from us Soul Eaters, but if they have too much Hikari can control them. That's why she puts darkness into humans, because it feeds the darkness that's already there so that she can control them. _

_Hikari tried to take Ichigo's darkness and make him a Soul Eater … but I stopped her!_ She grinned up at me, tears still in her eyes, _I-I stopped her!_

I stared down at her, eyes wide. She didn't need to explain to me how she stopped Hikari; I already knew. She got in Hikari's way somehow, causing Hikari to turn her into a Soul Eater instead of her friend, Ichigo. I tightened my arms around her and laid my head on top of hers, "You're an amazing girl, Nel." I felt stupid for saying something so small and simple, but it was all I could manage, even though it was probably the understatement of the year.

Nel fell asleep quickly after that, which only made sense. She did just finish holding open a path between two worlds for who knows how long and what happened between her and me afterwards probably didn't help either. I just sighed and, even after she fell asleep, continued to hold her in my arms.

Mickey and Riku finished talking. At first it looked like Riku was going to come say something to me, but when he saw Mickey approaching me, he turned away and headed to where the gingerbread men were. Something akin to fear twisted inside my chest; was he angry with me? Did he figure out what I was going to do? "Don't worry," Mickey whispered as he sat next to me, "Riku doesn't know. He just wanted to talk to you alone … but there's something I need to tell you first."

I sighed in relief, but then quickly looked at Mickey, surprised at what he'd said, "What? Y-You know?" Mickey nodded gloomily, "Yes. I just wish you would have told the others." I inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, staring hard at the ground, "You know I can't. If I did, they'd try to stop me … or, at least Riku would." I tried to ignore the bitter sadness that was practically rolling off of Mickey in waves. He touched my arm and started speaking quieter, "They're going to miss you … and Riku, he'll be miserable without you." I scoffed a little and slowly shook my head, "You're wrong. They'll all be fine. Their lives will go on, they'll have families and be happy, and they'll forget all about me … I know they will."

"But-"

"What did you want to tell me?" I interrupted, eager to change the subject. He looked down, his ears drooping a little, but he went along with it anyways, "I wanted to tell you … you won't be able to kill Hikari." My eyes widened and shot up to meet Mickey's, "Wha-" But before I could finish, Nel suddenly let out a shrill cry. I looked down at her. Her mouth was gaping even after her scream stopped, and her eyes were wide and staring off into the distance, as though she'd just seen something terrifying that we couldn't see. The others reacted immediately, wielding their keyblades in a matter of seconds. Even Sora woke up and jumped to his feet.

"Nel!" I shook her gently by the shoulders, "Nel! What's wrong?" Her gaze still distant, she whispered a single word to me … a single name. _Hikari._

Then, Nel's body twisted and contorted, her shrieks filling the air. I held on tight to her, but her hands warped into small, animal like claws and she scratched her way out of my arms. She scrambled as far away from me as she could before she finally crumbled. I looked on in horror as her tiny body began to change into something else. What's happening to her?

_She's being infected, but she's trying to fight it,_ Kiri spoke up at long last, _Hikari must be somewhere close. She's found us._ My heart sped up and I looked around frantically, "Where are you, Hikari?" A loud, wicked laugh rang through the air, mixing and mingling with Nel's blood-curdling screams. A dark cloud suddenly engulfed Sora, and when it cleared he was gone. Fear twisted in my stomach, "Sora!" I jumped as the same thing happened to Mickey, "No!"

"You've come to confront me for the last time, huh?" a chilling voice, which could only belong to Hikari, resounded in the large room, "Looks like I beat you to it." I knew exactly what would happen next, but couldn't stop it. Still, I reached out, unable to stop shaking, and desperately screamed, "RIKU!"

Too late. Riku's horrified gaze met mine an instant before he was gone as well. My hands dropped limply to my sides and I backed away, looking around helplessly. Darkness suddenly surrounded me and a pair of icy-cold arms wrapped around me; one binding my waist and the other covering my mouth. Everything turned dark. The last thing I saw was Nel, half twisted into something like an animal, and still trying to fight off Hikari's infection.

Hikari whispered in my ear, her freezing breath brushing against me, "You're the last one."


	26. Chapter 24: Dreaming

**Ch. 24**

_**Dreaming**_

(The following chapter is written from different points of view, showing what's happening to Mickey, Sora, Riku, and Hika at the same time.)

**Hika**

It's cold … and dark. I can't hear anything, I can't feel anything … not even my own heart beat. Am I dead? How? How did I die? Maybe … when Hikari's darkness surrounded me? But I didn't feel any pain, so how could I be dead?

That wicked laugh echoed through my mind. I knew it would lead to Hikari, so I immediately latched on to it. What else could I do? Her laugh resounded, and I followed it again. I had no idea where it would lead, but I still continued. Finally, it gave way to light. The light must lead somewhere better than this, so I impulsively reached out for it. It shined brighter, until it suddenly changed into something resembling a sun. I blinked … wait, I blinked … I can move! I felt around me, only to find that I was lying in soft sand. Where was I exactly? It was clear that I wasn't dead, so I forced myself to sit up.

What I saw stunned me completely. The sea, palm trees, and a Paupu Fruit Tree … I was on Destiny Islands.

**Mickey**

The Darkness that had surrounded me after Sora disappeared finally receded, revealing my castle's courtyard.

What's happening? I glanced in all directions, but no matter where I looked there was chaos. Disney Castle was being completely destroyed by infected Soul Eaters. What was happening? Where were the others? I shook my head, "No time to worry about that now!" I ran into the castle to search for Minnie. As I turned a corner something caught my eye. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but the throne room was different somehow … it had a dark, foreboding look to it. Still, something was urging me to go in. I swallowed, my mouth dry and my body shaking, then took a step forward. "I need to be careful," I reminded myself aloud.

Suddenly, Minnie's scream filled the hall, "Mickey!" I gasped and ran full speed into the throne room, only to be greeted by a pair of angry, jet black eyes.

**Sora**

"Wha-" I looked around frantically before staring at a drawing I'd made as a child, "Why am I here?"

I'd woken up only minutes earlier sprawled out on the floor of my 'secret base', which was the hollow at the bottom of a massive tree back on the islands. I knew immediately where I was, so that wasn't the question. The question was; how did I get here? I thought for a moment, but didn't bother focusing on it for too long. "It doesn't matter how I got here," I decided, "but how do I get back?" I glanced around again, only to find myself coming back to that drawing. Kairi and I had made it a long time ago. It was a drawing of us sharing a Paupu Fruit. Even if it seemed childish, it was what got the two of us together. After seeing that she wanted to share a Paupu with me, I got up enough nerve to finally ask her out.

I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Something was at the base of a mysterious door that had been at the back of the cave for as long as I can remember. I knelt down and picked it up. My eyes widened … it was the purple wristband that Kairi used to wear when we were kids. The only difference was that it was splashed with blood.

**Riku**

I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes. Why was I back in my room, lying on my bed? It felt like I was just waking up, like everything with Hika had been a dream. Out of panic, I sat up, letting out a slight gasp, _no, no! Please, don't let it be just a dream!_

I looked around; if my suspicion was right, then the bay window next to my bed would be completely empty … but it wasn't. Just like every morning, Hika was sitting comfortably in the bay window, sleeping as though she'd been up all night watching over me. I shook my head and smiled before reaching up and touching her cheek tenderly. But, something still nagged at the back of my mind; _if I'm back on the island, then what about Hikari? Was __**that**__ just a dream?_ At first I was relieved; I would like nothing more that for that to be a dream. At least that would mean that Hika didn't have to suffer like that in reality. But then I froze, my hand still lingering on her cheek, _does that mean we aren't really engaged?_

Hika stirred, a content smile tugging at the edge of her lips. If that was all just a dream, that means that I never kissed her. Something in my heart clenched, but I managed to ignore it. After all, I'd rather her be safe than be mine, no matter how much love her. Her brow furrowed as though she were reluctant to wake up; she was always like that. "Hika," I tried to wake her gently, "wake up, the others are probably waiting for us on the island." Without opening her eyes she whispered, "Are they?" Before I could say another word, her eyes shot open … revealing pitch black irises.

**Hika**

I panicked, "Why? Why am I back on the islands? And where are the others?" I didn't have long to worry about that. As if answering my question, Kairi called from the docks, "Hikari! What are you doing? It's time to go back!" Back? Back to where?

I turned to Kiri for help but … she wouldn't say anything. I searched my mind for her. She just wasn't there. Kairi kept waving and I just stared after her. Sora suddenly walked past me, heading toward Kairi, "It's time to go back." "Back where?" I asked, grabbing onto his elbow before he could get too far, "Where are we going?" He gave me an odd look, like that was a stupid question, then slipped out of my grip and continued heading for the boats.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I smiled; it didn't take a genius to figure out who this was. I layed my arms over his, "Riku." He chuckled and put his head on my shoulder, "You've been asleep for a while. Were you dreaming?" I thought for a moment. **Was** everything that happened just a dream? What parts of it were a dream?

"Hika," he whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine, "Hika, it's time to go back." Eyes widening, I stepped away from Riku and spun around to face him, "Where?" He smiled and laughed quietly, "Back to the house of course." Something about his tone changed as he walked closer to me, "We're going back … back to where we can be safe." The tone of his voice and the look on his face was seductive, like he was trying to lure me into something. But I couldn't stop myself. When he reached out I took his hand and allowed him to lead me to where Sora and Kairi were standing.

They stepped into their boats and stared up at me. Riku continued to whisper in that same tone, "Come on, Hika. We can go back now. Everything is going to be fine." I wanted so badly to believe him, to take his hand and go back to the way it was. But something was wrong. I took a deep breath, "No." They stared at me, confused expressions on their faces, but I continued, "Something isn't right. What about Hikari? The Soul Eaters?"

Suddenly, they started to laugh. Kairi shook her head, "You must have some wild dreams." "Soul Eaters?" Sora added, "Really? I've never heard of them." I frowned, "It couldn't have all been a dream, right?" Riku gave me that sweet, gentle smile, "Hika, it's alright." I backed away. There's no way that I could have dreamt all of that. Again Riku reached for me, and again I backed away, my hands pulling away from him and clutching to my stomach … my stomach! If it really was all a dream, then there would be no scar from when Hikari had stabbed me in the stomach. I glanced down and barely lifted the hem of my shirt to see if there was a scar. There it was … a big patch of rippled, pale skin just above my belly button.

I looked back up at the others. The seductive look that had been on Riku's face turned dark. My blood ran cold as I gaped at them, my mouth hanging open. Riku stood up and I took yet another step back, but that was one too many steps. I stumbled over the edge of the dock and fell into the water, letting out a small scream. Luckily I fell where the water was still shallow enough that it didn't completely cover me. I looked back up at the dock only to see Riku, Kairi, and Sora glaring down at me.

Kairi jumped down in front of me, landing with a splash. She scowled, "We could have gone back. We could have been safe, but you just don't give up." She played with a strand of my hair, her expression turning to a slight pout, "Now you have no one to blame but yourself." Riku and Sora jumped down next to her, the same infuriated looks plastered across their faces. Each of them blinked, and their eyes turned black. A chill ran down my spine, _what's wrong with them? They wouldn't act this way … are they infected?_

"That's right." Hikari's voice echoed in my head, "They're infected. They belong to me now."

**Mickey**

Minnie stared angrily at me, "Mickey Mouse! How dare you take this long to come home?" My head dropped in shame and I looked up at her apologetically, "Aw, Minnie, you know I don't mean to be gone so long." She crossed her arms and gave me a stern look. Something about her seemed different, but I **had** been away for quite a while, so I disregarded it. Still, something tugged at the back of my mind. I felt uneasy, like something was out of place.

"Oh, Minnie," Daisy's voice came from the door, "don't be so hard on him; he's been very busy." I nodded, "She's right, Minnie; you know that." She thought for a moment, then sighed and smiled, "Alright, but we better get going to the hall of the corner stone." I tilted my head slightly, "Why?" Daisy shook her head, "To get away from those Soul Eaters, of course; they're bound to make it into the throne room at any second." Minnie took my hand and started leading me to the secret passage to the Hall of the Corner Stone, "We'll be safe down here." I stopped and wielded my keyblade, "I can fight them off."

"No!" Minnie and Daisy suddenly shouted. I quirked an eyebrow. "I mean," Minnie paused, "Y-you can't! I just don't want to risk you getting hurt." Daisy nodded, but something just wasn't right. I gripped my blade tighter, "What's going on? Minnie wouldn't worry about something like that; she knows I can handle the Soul Eaters." For a moment, they were quiet. Then their expressions changed. They glared at me, Minnie taking a step forward, "You always were too clever for your own good." "Really, Mickey," Daisy tapped her foot, "If you would have just gone into the hall. You could have lived happily without having to worry about the others." "You could have been safe." Minnie added.

"What's happened to you guys?" I panicked, "Why are you-" A mass of black clouds suddenly emerged behind them, and when it cleared, a tall woman with long, sleek black hair and matching black eyes stood in it's place. She grinned wickedly, "I made a small adjustment to them. Do you like it?" I readied my keyblade, "You! You're the real Hikari, aren't you?"

"You should be honored, my king," she gave a deep, mocking bow, looking up at me through her long dark lashes, "you get to see how deeply my **real** darkness effects others."

**Sora**

I clutched the bloodied wristband in my fist, looking around frantically, "Kairi!"

"Sora," her gasping voice came from behind me. I spun around to see her propped against a wall, laboring just to breath, "Sora … we have to go." I ran to her and knelt beside her, "What happened? Who did this to you?" She was bloody from head to toe, but her chest had to be the worst. There was a huge puncture wound in the center. She took in a stuttering breath, "Hika … she lost control. We can't trust her anymore." My brow furrowed, "Why would she … how?"

Kairi moaned and I shook my head, "Never mind, we don't have time for that now!" I picked her up and she pulled my ear close to her mouth, whispering, "We have to go back … back to the islands. We'll be safe there … safe and happy." I gave her a strange look, but I knew she was right, so I followed her instructions and headed back to the boats so that I could row us home.

**Riku**

I stared into Hika's eyes, dazed and confused. They should have been silver and gold, the colors that I had come to love so much. But instead, they were pitch black. She smiled sweetly at me, "Good morning, Riku." I backed off of the bed and glared at her, "What's going on?" She poked out her bottom lip, donning an innocent expression, "What are you talking about? It's me, Hika."

Was she infected? No, she couldn't … I gnashed my teeth, "You know what I'm talking about. You aren't Hika. Now give her back." Hika frowned and gave me a condescending look, "Alright. I knew a game with you wouldn't last long anyways." Dark clouds condensed on the bay window next to her. When they dispersed, a tall, dark haired woman with black eyes and a matching nightgown sat next to her, playing with her blonde hair, "Hello again. Remember me?"

"Hikari." I mumbled under my breath, knowing who she was immediately. She smiled at me smugly, "I guess you're not one for games … are you, love? Aw, but we had so much fun before." I kept silent, shooting her a dirty look. "Alright," she whined, wearing the same pout that had been on Hika's face just moments ago, "I'll just cut to the chase. I knew I couldn't fool you anyways. Not with Hika's unique eyes and that strange personality of hers. I couldn't have possibly imitated her. But, you know, your friend Sora really isn't very bright. He's the only one that's fallen for my tricks."

The pit of my stomach clenched and my blood boiled, "Sora? What have you done with him?" Hikari giggled, "Shouldn't you be more worried about the woman that you were so eager to call fiancé?" My eyes shifted to Hika for a moment, then back to Hikari, "No. I know she can handle herself." Hikari went from playing with Hika's hair, to stroking her cheek with her nails, leaving thin trails of blood, "But she's right here. She just has some minor adjustments. I've infected her. This is what my darkness can **really** do."

"I considered that," I admitted grudgingly, "but that's not possible … not anymore. She's too strong for you." Her expression shifted again, this time it was dark and menacing, "You have too much confidence in her." She took the fake Hika by her hair and launched her across the room, causing her to disappear in a cloud of black smoke as she screamed. The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and Hikari was digging her heal into my ribs. Something cracked, making me moan as pain exploded in my chest.

Hikari laughed hysterically, "You're persistent, aren't you? Fine, I'll tell you what I'm doing to the others, just because I know that, no matter how hard you try, you will be stuck in your little dream, just like them!"


	27. Chapter 25: His Crumbling Castle

**Ch. 25**

_**His Crumbling Castle**_

**Mickey**

"Nice adjustment, don't you think?"

I glared at Hikari.

"Well, I like it."

Minnie and Daisy giggled, wearing the smiles that I'd seen thousands of times on their faces. "Aw," Hikari gave me a small pout, "don't make that face at me. It's not my fault. In fact, I dare say that it is the 'noble' king's fault. You've neglected them for the others for far too long. These two girls being alone only made infecting them easier." I trembled slightly when Minnie nodded. It didn't feel right at all, but that didn't stop my heart from wrenching inside my chest. I gritted my teeth and she simply laughed.

What should I do? This can't be right … Minnie couldn't really fall to Hikari, could she? "What are you doing?" I tried to talk to Minnie and Daisy, knowing that, if I tried hard enough, they would be able to fight Hikari's darkness, "Look at this! You … you two would never do this! Minnie, I love you, and you love me … you know you do." Nothing in her cold expression changed, so I glanced at Daisy, "Daisy, you're one of my closest friends. Think of Donald! Sure, you guys have fights, but who doesn't? You two are just in love as … as …" I stopped, not only seeing that her face wasn't changing either, but realizing that I'd forgotten about something: Riku and Hika … and Sora. What happened to them? Where'd they go?

Hikari stood and gave a twisted grinned, her black eyes glinting, "Talking to them won't make any difference. Hell, begging them won't even change anything. My darkness infected them, magnifying the darkness that was already there … the darkness of the anger that they bear toward you for leaving them alone. They're slaves now … and their master? Me."

"There's nothing you can do to change that, you stupid, useless king."

**Riku**

I couldn't speak; the pain in my chest was too unbearable … but then why did the pain feel so distant? My mind was reeling as Hikari continued to stomp on my chest and laugh uncontrollably; dream? _What does she mean? And why? Why did she mention the others? Is she doing this to them too? Oh, god … Hika!_

**Hika**

I ran along the beach, trying desperately to escape them. _What are they doing? Why?_ My lungs ached, but it was dull and distant compared to the other pain in my chest. Tears soaked my face and my heart hammered against my ribs, as though it was trying to break free. Still … I couldn't run from them forever.

**Sora**

"Sora?"

I glanced down at Kairi, "Yeah?" I stared at her in her bed, slightly uncomfortable seeing her in the condition she was in, but thankful that she was okay. She smiled and reached for me, placing her hand on my cheek, "We can't do it anymore." I laughed nervously, worried about her answer to my next question, "What do you mean?" "Hika," she whispered, still touching my cheek, "she did this. Her light … it died. She lost control and did this to me. And Riku, he's with her. He never could stand to be separated from her." My body went rigid … I wanted to ask how Hika's light could have faded, but something about Kairi's voice … it was so alluring. It spoke volumes; _believe me, and you'll be safe. Believe me, and we won't have to separate ever again; we'll be happy._

So I did.

**Mickey**

"What an odd combination," Daisy said nonchalantly, "He's clever, but at the same time he's …" her voice trailed of into a small fit of giggles. Minnie joined in. I almost tried to convince them again, to tell them that they're strong enough to fight her, but Hikari chuckled, looking down on me, "It's a waste of time. Their light is locked away, far too deep for you to reach. And besides," she stepped away from Daisy and Minnie, then spun in circles, as if dancing, "look around you! Your precious castle is crumbling! What can you do to stop it? Nothing!"

Her loud, joyful shout resounded throughout the large throne room, and seemed to echo through my head as well. I looked back at Daisy and Minnie, but they'd already joined in Hikari's dance, spinning with their arms stretched out. The castle walls started to rumble and the ceiling began to fall. Knowing that I couldn't stay in there, I turned and ran, glancing over my shoulder at Minnie, who still danced … I felt hollow … like I was leaving my heart behind with her. Hikari's insane laugh raked my head and wouldn't go away, even as I fled away from the throne room.

I went straight to the library to look for something that could stop this. There was bound to be something in the reports from Ansem that I still had tucked away. As soon as I walked into the room, Donald turned to face me, his stare blank but his smile wide. My brow furrowed, his expression scaring me a bit, "Donald?" Suddenly, a cry parted his beak and his body began to twist, his thin bones making audible, nauseating snapping sounds. Right in front of my eyes, he changed into something else … an infected Soul Eater.

I turned away, only to be met with the same expression, only this time it was plastered across Goofy's face. When he screamed I ducked around him, covering my ears. It didn't help; his deafening scream and the snapping of his bones still penetrated me.

I didn't get to look at the Ansem Reports. As I ran to the Castle Courtyard I stumbled, falling on my face. I didn't move. It's not that I couldn't; I just knew that if I did, if I went to the courtyard, I would have to face the infected Soul Eaters and face the awful truth that my home, and the home of so many others was dying. Even worse, I, the king, couldn't do anything to stop it anymore. I shook, unable to stop as a lump formed in my throat … was I really useless?

Something above my field of vision caught my eye. I glanced up; Riku. Something in me flinched; would he turn too? But I shook my head, _No, he's too strong for that!_ I nodded to myself, smiling when Riku offered me a hand. I took it and he helped me up. He smiled, "We should probably go to the library so we can tell Donald and Goofy to evacuate everyone." Something about what he said nagged at the back of my mind, but Riku was the only one that could help at the moment, so …

"We can't."

"Why?"

"They've turned into Soul Eaters." I admitted sadly.

"Then where?"

"The Castle Courtyard," I told him reluctantly, "we should evacuate whoever is still alive ourselves. The courtyard is the best place to start." He suddenly looked determined and turned to the courtyard, "Right."

As we ran to the courtyard we had to dodge the falling debris of my collapsing castle.

**Riku**

Finally, the beating stopped. Hikari stood over me, frowning as though she were disgusted, "This is getting boring." Tremors quaked through my body, and I barely had enough strength to even cough up the blood that was at the back of my throat. It trickled from the corner of my mouth. But still, everything felt so far-off, like it wasn't real.

I wanted to ask about the others, but I stayed silent, know it was useless; she wouldn't tell me unless she wanted to, and if she wanted to, she'd tell me whether I asked or not. "Wise boy," she praised with a slow clap, "you've figured me out, haven't you? Oh, and don't bother even trying to speaking. Those human lungs of yours are inadequate now and can barely support your breathing. I can tell what you want to say, anyways."

"The others," she answered my silent question, "are trapped in their own little heaven turned hell."

**Hika**

Another cut. Another kick. Another punch. Another taunt.

Her voice echoed again, "You can't escape. There's no hope. Your selfish decisions have led them to this."

Then, without thinking, I drew my gun. I shot … once … twice … three times.

**Sora**

How much longer can this last? I waited outside the bathroom in my and Kairi's small apartment. The shower was on full blast, and Kairi hummed to herself as she washed of the blood from earlier off. It's so strange that that much blood came from wounds that she could treat herself, but I didn't question it … I was just happy she was safe.

Kairi stepped out of the bathroom in a short, dusty pink nightgown. Smiling at me, she held her arms out, "Ta-da!" She giggled, "All better!" I smiled at her, "Of course! You're tougher than you look."

She looks at me from underneath her eyelashes, grabbing my hand in hers, "Come on, you must be exhausted. Lie down and go to sleep."

**Mickey**

We finally reached the courtyard, but nobody seemed to be there besides the Soul Eaters from earlier. They'd thinned out a bit, though. We immediately separated, taking different directions to look for survivors. I must have fought through about twenty of them before I heard something.

"Mickey!"

A desperate scream came from behind a nearby hedge. I peeked behind it cautiously, only to see Hika huddled on the ground and covered in a mixture of Soul Reflection and blood (For information on Soul Reflection, just incase you forgot, refer to Ch. 5, Soul Reflection). I panicked, "Hika!" Running to her and kneeling next to her, I looked her over a little, "Just hold on." She nodded, "It's fine; the Soul Eaters can't find us here right now, but they will eventually. We need to go somewhere safer."

"Just give me a second to go get Riku." I replied. I got up and ran back out into the courtyard, searching for Riku's white hair, which would easily stick out among the silver and gold of the Soul Eaters and the greenery of the courtyard. It was harder than I thought, but eventually I caught a glimpse of him, "Riku!"

He looked over his shoulder at me and, knocking the infected Soul Eaters out of his way, he ran to my side, "What? Did you find someone?" I nodded, "Hika. She's hurt pretty bad." His brow furrowed angrily, a reaction I didn't expect, "Where is she?" I turned back in the direction that I'd come from, "Follow me!"

We made it back quickly. Riku crouched in front of Hika, that angry expression still on his face as he stared at the Soul Reflection that had rubbed off of Hika's skin and onto his hand, "Soul Eaters." _Something isn't right._ He got up and stalked off toward the Soul Eaters, his expression pure rage. _Again, something isn't right._ "Wait," Hika interjected, "We need to get to the Hall of the Cornerstone." _That's it, nothing about this is right._

I aimed my keyblade at Riku and he froze. Without waiting for him to turn, I spoke, "No matter how badly anyone hurts Hika, Riku's anger toward that person, human or not, would not overpower his concern and love for her … he wouldn't walk away just to go get revenge."


	28. Chapter 26: His Withered Paradise

**Ch. 26**

_**His Withered Paradise**_

**Riku**

Struggling to get up, I flipped over onto my stomach, which probably wasn't the wisest thing to do seeing as how I coughed up more blood as soon as I did. I glared at Hikari, who stood just inches from me. Ignoring me, she continued, "You aren't very fun to play with, so I'll just cut to the chase. I'll even tell you where your real body is."

I was still trying to get to my feet, or at least sit up. She still didn't do anything about it and just kept talking, "You and your friends are all in Ansem's lab on Radiant Garden, sleeping like little babies. Of course, I didn't leave you unbound. But don't worry; I'm taking good care of all of you. While your bodies are resting in the real world, your souls are stuck here, in my darkness. I intend to trap all of you here, whether I use happiness, pain, or fear to do so is all up to you."

Finally, I sat up, but I didn't have the strength to do anything else. The pain in my chest intensified when I tried to speak, but I still pushed myself, "What do you-" "I told you not to speak," she interrupted me with a smile, "I'll explain everything, I promise."

Hikari lifted her foot and pushed me back with it. I didn't bother trying to get back up; I just sat there, my back against the bed, glaring at her. "Well," she grinned darkly, "that position suits you. Now, if you'd be so kind as to shut up, I'll continue." Grinding my teeth, I scoffed. Flashing a disgusted look, she went on, "This is a world that I created all by myself. It's swimming with my darkness. I influence it, I change it. And I even have my own system for manipulating the people inside this little prison. Would you like to know?" I frowned, keeping my gaze on her, "It doesn't matter what I want, you'll tell me no matter what."

Hikari clapped, "You're so smart! Anyways, I start out with one simple thing; putting the prisoners, you and your little friends, in the place that makes them happiest. Then, to lure them in, I use the people that are important to them, that's what's working for you little pal Sora. If they don't fall for that, I use those people to terrorize them! You should have seen your precious king when I used that one on him. Oh, and the last one seems to be working especially well on that fiancé of yours … it's pain. Agonizing, terrible pain … both physically and mentally … caused by the people closest to the prisoner."

_She's been using that on Hika?_ I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to talk, "What are you doing to her?" She threw her head back and laughed, "Oh, I'm not doing anything to her. You are." I tried to get to my feet but she pushed me back down and continued, "You, Kairi, and Sora. Really, I'm appalled at what you've done to her … but I'm even more shocked by what she's done to stop it. When you think about it, I've already got her trapped. And Sora's as good as mine, too."

I tried to distract Hikari as I looked around the room for something to use against her, "What about Mickey, there's no way you could trap him here." She glowered at me, "He has proved difficult, but he'll fall soon enough."

Suddenly, I stopped searching and smiled as something crossed my mind, "You're wrong."

"What?"

"You might be hurting them, but they're too strong to be trapped by you."

All of a sudden, her expression turned savage, as though something had set her off, "**You're** wrong." She stomped her foot, shouting, "This is **my** world, **my** world! **I** control it." Grabbing my collar, she looked me in the eyes, "This paradise of yours," She motioned to everything around her, "I **will** make it wither!"

Still, my smile didn't falter, "No, you won't … you can't."

**Sora**

I stared at Kairi for a moment, "Kairi?" For some reason, something was tugging at the back of my mind, something that had been bugging me for a while, but I didn't get a chance to ask about. She was standing next to my bed, her head tilted, "What is it? You look worried. You should really get some rest." Taking a deep breath, I resisted the urge to just forget what was bothering me, "Are you sure Hika did that to you? I don't think she would … you know, lose control like that … I mean, she's stronger than she seems." For a second, she looked mad. She mumbled something to herself before turning her attention back to me, "Well, Hika wasn't strong enough to control her own light."

No. That didn't make sense. She'd used her light before hadn't she? She didn't lose control then … so how could she lose control now? My eyes widened, "She couldn't." Kairi gave me a strange look, "What?"

"Kairi," I took a step back, my heart pounding, "why are you saying she lost control … we both know she wouldn't." Kairi walked toward me, but I backed away again, "No. We both trusted her before. Remember? She took Hikari's darkness out of us. It was painful, but it worked. And she didn't lose control." She grimaced, her eyes turning black, "Stupid brat. You're just like your friend; you put too much trust in her."

I smiled, "I trust all of my friends. They're all strong … too strong for you to infect them again." I was guessing of course; I knew my friends were strong, but up until now we'd only been fighting Akiko, who was being controlled by Hikari. We had no idea how powerful the real Hikari would be.

My bluff worked … _thank god!_ Hikari appeared from a cloud of smoke behind Kairi, smiling, "You know, you and your buddies are really starting to piss me off." Her voice sounded kind, belying her heated words, "You all say the same things; 'She's too strong'" She rolled her eyes, "Give me a break. You guys are nothing compared to me. And you're all alone, so you **really** don't stand a chance."

I shook my head, "You're wrong!"

**Mickey**

Riku glanced over his shoulder at me, "What? What are you talking about?" I smiled, "I've been waiting." Hika touched my arm, "Mickey?" My gaze shifted to Hika as I pulled away from her, "I knew the others would see through you, I just had to wait for them." I looked to a near by bush and watched as 'the other me' stepped out from behind it. A dark cloud formed between us, disappearing to reveal Hikari. She clapped her hands above her head and everything turned black, save for me, her, and the other me.

She looked from me to him and back, "What have you done? How are-" the other me answered, walking around Hikari to me, "I knew what you were doing. Don't forget, Ansem's student was the one that originally set you free. He wrote down notes about all of your abilities and how to get around them. All of those notes are stored in my library."

He looked to me and held out his hand. I took it and let my memories of what had happened while Hikari had me flow into him. Gradually, I disappeared.

**Other Mickey?**

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain that Hikari had caused my other half. It hit me hard, but I was able to keep my composure, knowing it wasn't real. Then, I calmly opened my eyes again. Hikari was starring at me with a mix of anger, confusion, and hatred. Before she had a chance to speak, I explained, "When you took us to Radiant Garden, there was a small amount of time between then and when you put us in your world. I took that chance to separate the part of me that had any doubt about my strength and the strength of my friends from the part of me that had confidence in all of us. That was the part of me you really trapped. Then, I just waited quietly for the others to gain enough confidence to fight back. If I hadn't done that, then you would have known that you couldn't trap me here because you would have immediately known that any fear I was showing was fake. You would have killed me."

"But you can't do that! I control this place!" Hikari balled her hands into fists, similar to a child throwing a tantrum, "I control it!" I shook my head and took a step toward her, "Maybe you do, but you don't control us." She stumbled back slightly, "Stay back!" "You trapped me," I admitted, "But only a small part of me. Because of that, I'm not fooled by your illusions, and I can even control my own body."

Her eyes widened and she screamed, "NO!" I walked away and closed my eyes, leaving her tiny world and returning to my body.

My eyes fluttered for a moment, trying to get used to the light. Sitting up, I looked at the room around me. It was large and it's walls were just bare metal. In fact, the only things in the room were me, Sora, Hika, Riku, and her … Hikari. Her black hair was long enough that it was spread randomly across the ground. I looked to the others; some of their veins were black because of Hikari's darkness. Strands of Hikari's hair barely lifted off the ground and connected to each of my friend's wrists, acting like little wires by taking Hikari's darkness and putting it into them.

All of them were asleep though, lying limply on the floor; caught in Hikari's illusions. Even Hikari herself was asleep, but she was sitting in a chair that was styled almost like a throne.

I glanced down at my own wrists; I was no longer connected to Hikari. Walking over to Riku and kneeling down next to him, I whispered, not only to him, but every one, hoping that Hikari didn't have a tight enough hold on them that they wouldn't hear me;

_Everyone … please, fight back. This isn't real! She's tricking you. Don't believe anything you see! You have the strength, now use it!_

**Sora**

I smiled when the king's voice resounded in my head. I had enough trust in him that I didn't question it, I just acted. Without a second thought, I wielded my keyblade, "As long as I know my friends still believe in me, I can take you on, even if I am by myself!" She pushed Kairi out of the way and came at me, her expression dark and twisted, her black sword aimed to kill.

It didn't work. In seconds, I opened my eyes … I was back in my body again.

**Riku**

The pain in my chest disappeared as I got to my feet, King Mickey's voice urging me on. "My paradise," I looked Hikari in the eyes, "it's untouchable. Why? Becauseit's not only mine; it's Hika's too … and Mickey's and Sora's. All of us find our paradise and happiness in the ones we care about … you, your darkness; it can't touch us, not so long as we have each other."

Hikari bared her teeth like a scared animal. She brandished her black sword and charged, screaming frantically.

I suddenly opened my eyes, taking in a sharp breath and sitting up. I glanced around for a moment, confused. Sora sat next to me, cross legged with a goofy looking grin on his face. Mickey knelt on the other side of me, a smiling with relief. Realizing I was in my body again, I asked, "Where's Hika?"

Sora's smiled fell, "She's not awake yet." I looked to Mickey, but he wore the same grim expression, "Hika's darkness has too tight of a hold on her for her to hear us." My eyes searched the room for her … it didn't take long.

Hika's limp body was lying only a few feet behind Sora. Sora stood and moved out of the way, his eyes focusing on Mickey, "How did Hikari get such a strong grip on Hika? She's just as strong as we are." I barely glanced over my shoulder at King Mickey, who just sat there staring at the ground. Suddenly, I remembered what Hikari had told me,_ the last one seems to be working especially well on that fiancé of yours … it's pain. Agonizing, terrible pain … both physically and mentally …_

Within seconds I was by Hika's side, terrified of what Hikari might be doing to her. Mickey and Sora joined me, sitting on either side of her. Sora was the first to speak up, "She's powerful, right? I mean, she's the true light." Mickey shook his head, "Hika's light is different. It doesn't have its own strength; its power comes from the ones Hika loves … from the knowledge that they are alive. In Hika's mind, if the people she cares about are alive, there's still hope." I wiped away a tear that rolled from the corner of Hika's eye, "But we are alive."

Mickey reached out and touched Hika's hand, "Something must have happened that convinced her otherwise."

**Hika**

I dropped my gun to the ground, falling on my hands and knees. My entire body shook as the sound of those three gunshots echoed through my head, "No … no … NO!" My head dropped and my voice strained as I screamed. In front of me were Sora, Kairi, and Riku … all dead. I shot them.

NOTE: I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in this one (there are probably more than usual). I do have someone that reads through and corrects my chapters, but she's on a trip to Tennessee this week, so she couldn't help me. Was the part with Mickey too confusing? This week, your feed back would help me out even more than usual (and it's always helped me out in the past), so please, don't be shy. And remember, constructive criticism is my friend! Thanks for reading! I love you guys!


	29. Chapter 27: Her Death

**Ch. 27**

_**Her Death**_

"That's right,"Hikari's voice echoed through my head, "you killed them. You took the lives of the people you loved." My entire body shook. What was I supposed to do? I was just so scared. "My, my," Hikari whispered, "you are such a coward. You probably don't even have the courage to go back to the island to face the others. Poor Wakka and Tidus were always so close to Sora and Riku. Oh, and I'm sure Selphie would cry her little eyes out."

"Stop!" I screamed, "Just, please, stop." My voice got quieter as I spoke, "You don't have to say it; I know I'm a coward. I killed Sora, Kairi, and Riku … just to save my own life." My tears continued falling, but this time, they were silent. I didn't sob, I didn't scream. I just sat there, crying.

"You know," Hikari spoke again, "I can help." I scoffed, "Why would I want help from you? You're the one that infected them." Now her voice came from just in front of me, "But I can make it all stop; you just have to let me. All of this pain, this fear and doubt, I can make it go away. And this time, it would benefit us both, so I have no reason not to do it." My gaze drifted up, only to be met by Hikari's cold, black eyes.

She stood in front of me, her black sword aimed and ready to kill.

**Riku**

My eyes shifted between Sora and Mickey as the three of us sat in silence. None of us really knew what to do. I looked to the king, "Didn't Ansem's reports from when he freed Hikari say something about this?"

King Mickey shook his head, "No one had ever been in Hikari's nightmare for this long without being completely trapped." I glanced back down at Hika, feeling useless. _Think,_ I told myself, _the only reason she's like this right now is because she thinks you're all dead … how can you prove you're alive?_ More tears streaked her cheeks. Out of reflex, I wiped them away. Her brow furrowed slightly. My eyes widened as an idea crossed my mind. "Sora," I looked up at him. He jumped, surprised by the sudden break in silence. Still, I continued, "Hold Hika's hand." He gave me a strange look, but did as he was told.

I looked to King Mickey, "You too, King Mickey." He nodded and took her hand in his. Sora spoke up, "Why are we-" he stopped when he saw I wasn't really listening anymore.

Trailing my hand from her shoulder down hers, I leaned over and kissed her. Then, without a second thought, I whispered in her ear.

**Hika**

My head fell again. I wasn't about to let her kill me, but what could I do? I felt so weak against the real Hikari. She raised her blade, "This is it … this will be your death."

I closed my eyes. For some reason, my hands felt warm and my lips started to feel like something was pressing against them. It felt so familiar, like I should know it, but before I could place the sensation, it was gone. I braced myself for Hikari's sword but something stopped her. Lifting my head, I saw Hikari glancing around with a wild look in her eyes. She swung her blade through the air, "No! Not when I'm this close! I nearly have her!" I started to wonder if she'd lost her mind, but Riku's voice suddenly rang through my head, _Hika, don't listen to her. All of this is fake. We aren't dead; we're right next to you, holding your hands. Can't you feel that? The warmth? Please Hika, please hear me. She's trying to trap you._

"Riku?" my eyes widened; he sounded so close, so real. A small, familiar voice in the back of my mind spoke, _He is! Riku's alive!_ At that moment, something changed. Riku was alive, and he said that this was all fake. So this was just another attempt by Hikari to trick me without actually killing me? Why? Again, the voice echoed through my mind, _She's afraid to!_ I smiled, recognizing the voice, "Kiri."

With that, I grabbed my gun and aimed. Hikari's furious gaze shot to me, "No!" I grimaced, "I may not understand what's happening, but Riku isn't dead, and I'd die before I'd ever believed you over Riku or Kiri." Again, she started to bring down her sword. But this time, I shot … I shot every round I had in my gun. When it was over, her body fell to the ground. She landed with a loud thud, and stared back up at me, whispering weakly, "You won't … get out of here … alive."

I turned away from her, "Like hell I won't." Then, I opened my eyes.

My mouth gaped and my eyes were wide as I tried to catch my breath. Riku sighed, "Calm down; you're alright now." _Welcome back to the real world,_ Kiri's voice rang through me, like so many times before. I grinned, "Kiri…"

Only then did I realize that I was no longer on the islands. Riku, Sora, and Mickey kneeled around me. I stared up at them, but didn't move, "This is real?" They all let out small sighs of relief, and Sora started to laugh, "Yeah, of course!" Mickey giggled, "We're all okay." I looked to Riku and he just nodded. Without thinking, I sat up and wrapped my arms around each of them, smiling uncontrollably, "Thank god … I thought … I thought I'd …"

"Come on!" Sora pulled away, "you really think you could beat us? You?" He laughed as I punched him in the arm playfully. Kiri scoffed, _That's one cocky starfish, huh? _I giggled a little but … when I looked around, I noticed someone wasn't there, "Where's Kairi?" Riku quirked an eyebrow, "She didn't come, remember? She's with Vincent and Yui back on the ship." I sighed, "Oh … right, then she's probably just fine." Sora crossed his arms, "She better be! If not, Vincent and I are gonna-" Riku rolled his eyes and chuckled, "What? You think you'd actually stand a chance in a fight with Vincent?" I shook my head, "Not likely." _Nope,_ Kiri thought matter-of-factly.

Mickey giggled, but his laughter was interrupted. "Don't go relaxing just yet," we all turned to see Hikari standing in front of a throne like chair. Riku mumbled to himself, "She woke up, too." Her expression was grim as she continued, "you escaped the nightmare, but you won't get away from me … not so long as I'm still breathing."

We all stood, wielding our weapons. Hikari glared, but her foot started to inch away. Kiri beamed, _she's scared. She knows something's different about you._ I stood and stepped forward, feeling a sudden urge of confidence, "You said that I'm a coward … and maybe I am. I can't even fight unless the people I care about are by my side. But you, you are even more of a coward; hiding behind all of your tricks, using a child to fight your battles … you're weak, and scared … you no longer have power over us."

"You little bitch!" she pointed her blade at me, "Who are you to look down on me? Who are you to act so self-righteous?" Kiri made a disgusted noise while I simply stared at Hikari, finally feeling strong enough that her words didn't get to me, "I am me."

For a moment, Hikari looked terrified, but that expression was soon replaced by hatred and anger. _We're getting to her,_ Kiri thought happily. Hikari's hair had been long enough to touch the ground, but now its length receded as she charged at us, screaming, "I'll kill you!" The others jumped away. I dodged and took aim with my gun, "No you won't." I squeezed the trigger, but she disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear above me, swinging her sword down as hard as she could. Riku charged in, blocking her blade with his own. They pushed away from each other, landing on opposite sides of the room.

Fortunately, Hikari landed near Mickey and Sora. Riku and I joined them; Riku brandishing his keyblade while I turned the Conductor into a sword. We bombarded her, not giving her even a moment's reprieve. Frantically blocking each one of us, she kept backing up, until eventually she was trapped in a corner.

Hikari suddenly smiled. We all braced ourselves for the worst as she pressed her palm against the silver wall. The walls and ceiling of the room around us started to warp. The ceiling grew smaller and started looking like head of a snake. One of the last things Akiko had said to me flashed through my mind; "I was trying to warn you about something else, too … her snake."

We all watched in horror as the room around us twisted and warped into a colossal, coiled serpent with silver scales and gold eyes. I expected Hikari to laugh, the way she did when anything went her way, but she just stood there, a dark grin spread across her face, "You should be careful when you play in the dark; you could get hurt." Letting the Conductor's blade dissipate, I aimed my gun at Hikari's creature and pulled the trigger. It didn't even flinch. _What are we supposed to do against that?_ Kiri asked, not really expecting much of an answer. Now Hikari laughed, "No effect; this one is too tough … I guess that little toy gun won't hurt me either, seeing as how my Yoite," she patted the huge snake, "isn't nearly as strong as I am."

Hikari continued to laugh, but I aimed the Conductor at her this time. Then, gathering bits of my light and letting them flow into the gun, I shot again. The bullet hit her shoulder. A sharp, loud cry escaped her as her hand shot up to clutch the bleeding wound. She stared down at her hand, looking as if she'd never seen her own blood before.

Above us, the sky that had once been blocked out by 'Yoite' was now turning dark. When I glanced back at her, Hikari was looking up and grinning, "Oh," she slowly looked back at us, "That reminds me, I nearly forgot to tell you something; while you guys were gone, I made Radiant Garden my toy. The heart of this world is now nothing but my darkness." The others were silent, except for Sora, who spoke up almost immediately, "What about Leon and the others?" Her only reply was a dark, perverse smile. Sora charged furiously and I tried to stop him, but I was too late. Hikari dodged his hotheaded attack and punched him in the gut, whispering something in his ear. He collapsed in her arms.

Hikari pointed her blade at us, "I want to prove to you that I own this world now. Come to its heart and see for yourself." The others charged after her as she left, but Kiri and I knew better. Kiri let out a mental sigh, _She's buying herself time._ I nodded and walked over to the others. By now Hikari, Yoite, and Sora were long gone. Before I said anything, I took in the world of Radiant Garden … or, what was left of it anyways.

There wasn't much to it. The skies were black and where there had been buildings before, there was nothing but empty space now. What little land was left behind was crumbled and covered in something akin to snow.

"This isn't Radiant Garden anymore," Riku's steady gaze remained on the sky, "it looks just like the world of darkness that I was in before." Mickey nodded glumly, "What are we going to do now?" The confidence that I had felt before was still there, so I spoke up, "We're going to Hikari. She wouldn't invite us somewhere and leave us without a way to get there."

They agreed, but Mickey still seemed restless, "What about Yoite?" I said exactly what Kiri was thinking, "Hikari knows that Yoite is the only thing she has left to use against us. She didn't leave with Sora in hand so that she could prove anything to us; she did it because she needs to come up with another plan. Her nightmares failed and, like she said before, she is stronger than that snake, yet I still managed to wound her. That means that I'd be able to hurt Yoite as well."

"But," Mickey looked up at me quizzically, "how are we going to find Radiant Garden's heart now? Everything about it is completely different from when Riku had been there before." _He's right,_ Kiri commented. I smiled, strangely happy that, for once, I was answering the questions, not asking them, "Well, the heart of the world is at its center, right?" Mickey nodded, his expression still questioning. _I'm with him,_ Kiri thought, _what are getting at? How are we supposed to get to the core of a world?_

Suddenly Riku's hand wrapped around mine, and he answered their silent questions, "We just keep going down, until we reach the core." I nodded, and this time Mickey did, too, "Alright," he started walking, "we better start looking." Riku and I followed after him. I noticed that, in the back of my mind, Kiri was silently celebrating, _This is it. I just know it; this will be our last time fighting her._

"It's hard to believe," Riku murmured to me. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, "What?" He gave the gentle smile that I loved so much, "That the woman standing next to me is the same woman that just days ago was confused and terrified." "Well, I finally know what's going on. I have all of the answers to my questions, and, to top it off, I know why she's been toying with us and not facing us directly," I hinted. "Is she scared?" He guessed, his tone turning serious. Looking straight ahead, my smile didn't waver, "Yes. She is the true darkness, so she tried to hide from the light, using all the tricks she could to avoid me. Now she knows; if this last one with Yoite and Sora fails … she's done for."

After that, we walked in silence, stopping every once in a while to fend off the infected Soul Eaters that were still lingering in Radiant Garden. Eventually I lost track of time, but still we made it …

… then we confronted Hikari for the last time.

NOTE: One, perhaps two more chapters and an epilogue, that's all that's left to write. Any thoughts?

P.S.- After this is all over I'll do a few bonus chapters called the 'What if…' chapters. In them, I'll write about what I think would happen if certain shows or manga were worlds in KH. I've already got three ideas of my own (Host Club, Soul Eater, and Axis Powers Hetalia), but when I publish the epilogue, I'll be asking for requests so start thinking about your request now, then put it in the comment column on the epilogue (once I've got it published, of course). If I know what show/manga you're talking about, I'll write it. I'll also message you to let you know I'm going to do the show/manga you requested.


	30. Chapter 28: Final Struggle

**Ch. 28:**

_**Final Struggle**_

I wanted to be ready for anything, so before we took the last step, I stretched my light out, covering Riku and Mickey with it. It seemed like they could feel it, because as I took one last look at them they both smiled at me. I felt strangely calm, despite the mixed feelings of angst, excitement, and happiness coming from Kiri. We were standing on the edge of a large circular cliff, which surrounded Yoite and Hikari.

Sora was in Yoite's mouth, dangling helplessly from his teeth. Hikari finally turned her attention from her snake to us. Her expression was blank. _She didn't come up with something in the time it took us to find her, did she?_ Kiri tensed. "No," I whispered to her, "if she did, then she'd have that smile on her face."

"Oh?" the edge of Hikari's mouth twitched, as though she were hiding a grin, "Are you willing to bet on that?" No one said anything to her; we were done talking. She grimaced, "Now, aren't you just disgusting … when someone speaks to you, you're supposed to respond." For the first time, I was the one with a smile. Her eyes narrowed, "You bitch, what's that damn grin for?"

I quickly laced my light through the Conductor's bullets, "You want a response? Fine. Here it is!" Raising my gun, I shot immediately, aiming for the shoulder opposite the one I'd hit before. She disappeared, only to reappear mere feet in front of me, her black sword ready. We jumped away from her as I called out to the others, "Sora needs you guys right now! Don't mess with Hikari; she's mine!" They both did as I told them and ran to Yoite, Riku hesitating only for a moment, "I love you … Good luck."

My confidence from earlier built up even more, "I love you, too … and thanks, but I don't need luck." He nodded and ran to join Mickey. Maybe I was being a bit cocky, but for once I felt strong enough to take her … for once she was nothing to me. _That's right,_ Kiri cheered me on, _now that you can control your light, she doesn't stand a chance._ Hikari charged at me, bearing her blade. I quickly turned the Conductor into the long sword, but something felt different. It felt as if I wasn't using my light to its full extent, so I pushed it further. It was no longer just a blade; now it took the form of a claymore.

This made it easy to block Hikari. She pushed away from me, grunting with the effort. I was surprised by how feather-light the claymore felt to me, but that didn't distract me at all. Racing forward, I bombarded her with countless attacks, which forced her further and further back.

Suddenly she let out a burst of darkness, pushing me back away from her. Allowing some of my light to focus at the bottom of my feet, I used it to charge forward. She didn't give me a chance to. Now it was her turn to launch blow after blow at me. This went on for countless minutes. With each strike, I could feel her put more and more strength and darkness into her sword. The force of her blows suddenly knocked me off balance, and she immediately took advantage of that. Thrusting her sword upward, she knocked me high into the air. She jumped up after me, so I withdrew my claymore and aimed the Conductor's barrel. But something else caught my eye.

Mickey was still up and fighting, but Riku had been knocked to the ground by Yoite's tail. My eyes widened. _Don't let that distract you!_ Kiri suddenly shouted at me. But it was too late; Hikari raked her black blade across my torso, sending a searing pain through my entire body. I screamed as her strike tore at my nerves, but before the cry even ended, Hikari brought her sword down hard, using the back of the blade so that all it did was send me spiraling toward the ground. Struggling to keep my wits about me, I focused the light on my back, cushioning the impact of the landing. Still, it sent a shock wave through me, making the gaping wound throb even more.

But this was just like what had happened with Vincent, so, as quickly as I could, I pushed myself off the ground and readied myself for her next assault. She charged at me, but I raised my gun and shot, forcing as much light as I could into the bullet. The shot broke her sword in half. Hikari simply stood there, shocked.

Then Hikari's expression twisted into that of an enraged animal and what remained of her blade dissipated. The air around me suddenly felt thick, like I couldn't breathe. It weighed me down like shackles, causing me to fall to my knees. I moaned as I tried to push myself to my feet, but I couldn't, so I just stayed there, keeping my gun at the ready. The sound of bones breaking and twisting resonated from Hikari as her body began to twist and warp, just like … just like when Nel was turning into an infected.

Hikari grinned a twisted, sharp-toothed smile at me, "There's a reason a Soul Eater's body changes when they're infected by me." Her voice sounded more like a snarl as she continued, "Because it's **my darkness** that's infecting them, they start to look more like me than the humans they were created from." Her back arched as she started to laugh, and two lumps forced there way out of her skin, breaking through with a sickening rip. They were wings; large black wings with streaks of silver and gold. Her eyes turned pitch black as she continued to stare at me with that perverse smile, her body becoming more animal like with every second that passed, "You think you were scared before? Just you wait."

Her wings wrapped around us, forming a sort of dome. My eyes shot from her to, one of her wings, then to the other. I panicked, my confidence slowly deflating. _Don't you dare,_ Kiri urged me on, _if you lose confidence now, you're dead. Don't panic, just focus and be ready for anything._ I smiled, whispering to her, "You sound like you've changed just as much as I have." Her giggled resounded in my head, _yeah, well, I guess some of that new bravery of yours rubbed off on me._

"You done?" Hikari growled, "I'm getting impatient." I glared up at her, "You could have attacked me that whole time and the outcome would have still been the same. No matter what you do, I will win." Her smile fell into a grimace as she screeched, "Damn you!"

Then some of her feathers shot out of her wings, like large bullets. I raised the Conductor, turning it into the claymore again, spinning it through the air, and letting my light spill out from its tip. My light, combined with the claymore, blocked nearly all of the feather-bullets. But what it didn't block cut deep into my skin, sending bolts of pain through my nerves. I bit my lip, trying hard to hold back a scream. As I blocked each of the blades, something started to change. Mickey and Riku … I could feel them, their strength, their confidence, and their light. For the first time since I'd turned up on the islands, I completely understood what I was and what was happening to me, without someone explaining it to me. I was the true light and the true light didn't just draw strength from itself …

The tirade finally ended, leaving me an out-of-breath mess. I glanced up at Hikari; that same expression was on her face, but something had changed. While she herself looked the same, her breath was coming quicker. _She's just as exhausted as you are,_ Kiri smiled at her revelation, _she's running out of darkness._ I forced myself to stand, using my claymore to keep me stable. She glared, "You … you've used just as much light as I have darkness … how is it you can still stand even after I've wounded you?"

"I fight for others; you fight for yourself," I answered simply, "because of that, I get my strength from those that I love and those that love me … you have neither, so you have nothing besides your own hatred to give you power." I stood straight, "And you know what? Call me a hopeless romantic, but I know that hatred is nothing compared to love." It sounded so cliché, but that didn't change the fact that it was true. And now, because of that, I was above her. Now that I knew the others were there, and that they cared for and supported me as much as I did them, I felt invincible.

Hikari's eyes widened, "You were so weak, how could you …" her voice trailed off. That was alright; she didn't need to finish for me to answer, "I was only weak because I was foolish enough to try to stand on my own when I had friends that were more than willing to help me. You said that I should be afraid; well, my friends are with me, and now that I have them, you don't scare me at all."

For a moment, Hikari looked as if she were about to launch another attack, but she suddenly screamed, her face crumpling in pain. Her wings pulled away to reveal Mickey, Sora, and Riku; each holding their keyblades as Yoite's corpse was fading behind them. They were covered in a mixture of blood and Soul Reflection. Sora was in the worst condition; even so, he still managed to stand. Hikari's wings withdrew, leaving small drops of blood on the ground as they did. Riku, Mickey, and Sora had cut through her them.

There was no way for her to hide it now; she was getting weaker, so weak that her knees started to shake. As I stared at her, my calmness dissipated and was replaced by anger … something inside me just snapped. Everything that had happened led up to this. She'd toyed with me, with the people I loved, and with the life of an innocent child. I'll be damned if I wasn't going to make her pay.

I allowed my claymore to disappear and aimed my gun at her as I walked forward. This time, Hikari couldn't dodge the bullets. One lodged into her shoulder, the other in her stomach. She crumbled to her knees. Again I shot her shoulder, this time letting as much light as I could into the bullet as it left the gun. The force pushed her onto her back. She screamed each time she was hit, but her screams fell on deaf ears. Honestly, I had no idea what was happening, but I liked it. My anger boiled through my veins. Now she would know what she put us through. I stood over her aiming the Conductor between her eyes and getting ready to squeeze the trigger.

A small smile crossed her features, "Why aren't you listening to him?" Suddenly, Mickey's voice broke through my fury. He was screaming at me to stop, saying that I couldn't kill her. Keeping my gun on her, I turned to face him. Mickey's expression was panicked, but the others simply looked at him with confusion. Still, Mickey didn't say anymore.

"He didn't get to tell you," Hikari spoke up, drawing my attention back to her, "he said that you couldn't kill me, but he never told you why, did he?" I stayed quiet, unsure about what exactly was happening. "Stupid bitch," she laughed weakly, "the world is a balance of dark and light. You can't kill one and keep the other without the worlds being destroyed. Why do you think I didn't kill you when I could have easily done that from the beginning, instead of sending you to the islands?" My brow furrowed, and I shouted, "You're lying!"

"She's not," Riku walked toward me, "no matter how bad the darkness might be, the light always needs it to survive, just like the darkness needs the light to survive." My hands tightened around the Conductor, "But she …" Riku's arms wrapped around me, his hands resting on top of mine and trying to get me to loosen my grip on the Conductor, "I know. She did all of those terrible things. She caused a lot of pain, but it would do more harm than good if you killed her now."

"He's right," Mickey joined in. Sora nodded, his expression nearly as infuriated about this as mine, "I don't like it either, but if there's anything Riku, Mickey, and I have learned from the heartless and the Organization, it's that everything needs to be balanced. Which means you can't kill her." I shook uncontrollably as quiet, angry tears ran down my cheeks. I wanted so badly to pull the trigger … and yet …

I dropped the gun and turned to Riku, burying my face in his chest and winding my arms around his waist, trying to use his warmth to stop my tears and calm me down. He returned the embrace, but it wasn't the same. His muscles were tense, "Now what are we supposed to do?" He stared down at Hikari, but she simply spat at him, "Why the hell are you looking at me? You think I'll tell you just because I can't fight?" Mickey and Sora joined us where we stood. Mickey was the first to speak, "We need to lock her up again by using the keyblades, but …" his gaze shifted to me as I moved away from Riku, "… you should probably stand back. If you're too close, you'll be locked away with her." I nodded before looking up at Riku.

While the others got ready and restrained Hikari, who no longer had the strength to even fight back, I tried to straighten out my thoughts and think of the best way to perform the release once we finished with Hikari. I tried to hide it, but I must have been doing a poor job, because Riku noticed the grim look on my face right away. _I'll leave you two alone,_ Kiri thought quietly, sinking back into the corner of my mind. Riku started to say something, but I knew that the others would be ready much too soon for me to even attempt to tell him anything. So what else could I do?

I kissed him. For the first and last time, **I** kissed** him**. It was perfect. Our lips moved smoothly together as he wrapped his arms around me. I tangled my fingers in his hair, deepening the kiss. It felt as if, with each second that his lips were against mine, a cord of my heart was cut, until at last it was no longer connected to me, but to him. Tears silently fell down my cheeks as I desperately wished that the moment could have lasted forever, but then Mickey called Riku, "We're ready!" I backed away and forced possibly one of the worst fake smiles yet across my face before turning away. Riku quietly asked me, "Why did that feel like goodbye?" I glanced over my shoulder once, looking away as soon as I saw the pain in Riku's eyes. Then I kept walking, intending to get as far away as possible.

But, once they sealed Hikari away, that didn't make a difference. Light suddenly filled my vision, and when it cleared away, I was waking up on Destiny Islands, on the beach where I'd originally washed up. I didn't really understand what had just happened, but I couldn't care less. Hikari was gone, and we were back on the islands. The others, including those that had been on the ship, layed around me, each one out cold … except for Mickey. He was standing next to me, looking at the night sky, "They'll wake up soon. You should do it as soon as possible; otherwise, they won't let you." It took me a moment to get to my feet, but as soon as I did, I asked, "You knew this whole time, didn't you? You and Kiri both knew that I'd have to make this choice."

Mickey nodded and Kiri shrank further into the corner of my mind. "I," Mickey paused, probably thinking about what to say, "I didn't want you to do this, so I hid it, hoping Hikari wouldn't tell you. Riku may love you more than anyone ever could, but he isn't the only one who cares. Everyone knew after Hikari told you. Riku told them, but after you said you'd marry him, he didn't think you would make this choice." I thought aloud, "So, when Hikari was whispering those options to me, he heard her?" Again, Mickey nodded.

He offered me his keyblade, "I won't stand in your way." I smiled as I took it from him, "Thank you." Mickey didn't let go immediately, he just looked into my eyes with an admiring expression, "You're such a selfless girl. You're giving up the happy life you could have here so that the last of the Soul Eaters can finally rest." I chuckled quietly, "No. I'm doing this for me. After I'm gone, the others will eventually forget about me and go on with the lives they used to have. Wherever I end up after this, I'll be able to look down at Riku and the others and see them smile everyday, just the way they used to." Mickey's expression turned gloomy. I walked to the others with Mickey's keyblade in my hand and grabbed Sora's.

Riku's was the last one I retrieved. But, by the time I got to it, Yui was awake and clutching it to his chest, _Once you do this, Mama, Brother and I will be free, right?_ I nodded, then watched as Yui walked out on to the water, still holding Riku's blade. I smiled at him thankfully, then focused my light in the soles of my feet and walked out to join him. He put the keyblade into the water, and I followed his lead. He closed his eyes and I closed mine. The water at my feet turned warm and I opened my eyes to see the surface of the ocean glowing. The soreness and pain that remained from my fight with Hikari disappeared as the water's warmth flowed through me. "Yui," I asked, "what happens now exactly?"

"Now, your light will be released, joining the worlds again and keeping the darkness from escaping into them." Yui answered happily. I nearly closed my eyes again, but then Riku's voice called out to me. I turned to see Riku standing next to Mickey, his face raked with pain. I smiled at him, "We made it to the islands together, but I don't think I can keep the second half of our promise. I'm sorry … I love you."

The edges of my vision became hazy and white. Every pain, every doubt melted away as Destiny Islands disappeared from my vision. The last thing I saw was everyone waking up and staring at me with shocked expressions as Riku collapsed to his knees. While I watched Yui fade away to join his brother; where ever it was they'd end up, I felt happy, like every think was falling into place. But, then I was alone in that white, empty space. I looked around, thinking I'd be able to watch over Riku and the others, but nothing happened

When I realized that I couldn't, I felt hollow. I had cut out my heart and left it with Riku, and now the hole that was left behind started to throb. I clutched at it as if that would stop the agony, but it didn't. The pain echoed through me, "I guess this is the hell I have been allotted for being so selfish, huh?"

I gave up, knowing that it didn't matter anymore. Riku and the others were back on the islands, and they would soon forget that I even existed; they'd all move on, whether I was able to watch over them or not. So, I allowed myself to float aimlessly in the emptiness. I don't know exactly how much time had passed, but …

… Kiri's scream suddenly filled my head, _I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!_

NOTE: This chapter was about a page longer than the others, but for some reason, it didn't feel like it took that long to write … strange, huh? Anyways, I'm sorry if some of this doesn't make sense, I got my wisdom teeth removed on Friday, so I was on pain killers when I wrote this. Hopefully it's still good. Any thoughts? Was this series too long? Too short? Is there anything I can improve on? Remember, constructive criticism is my friend! Should I rewrite this chapter from Riku's point of view so that you know what's happening to him and Mickey in their fight with Yoite?


	31. Epilogue: Walking Along the Beach

**Epilogue**

_**Walking Along the Beach**_

Riku

I stared hard at the clouds on the horizon, wondering if they would turn into a bad storm. The sun was just starting to set; her favorite time of day. She always said she liked it because it wasn't too bright and it wasn't to dark outside. Then, after saying that, she'd take out a book and lay on the beach. She'd often ask me if I wanted her to read her books to me. In the end, I suppose was sort of flirting with her when I said yes. But, after a while, I did get into the books she'd read to me. I smiled at the memory as I started walking along the shore line again.

Two sets of footsteps followed after me. Sora and Kairi never were good at sneaking, but I decided to let them have their fun and didn't say anything. I shook my head when Sora said ow after being stepped on, or whatever it was that happened to him. Then Sora whispered, "Why does he still walk on the beach like this?"

"He's waiting for a storm." Kairi answered quietly.

Sora sighed, "But, it's not like she's going to wash up again, just because there's another storm. It's been six months now." I turned toward Sora and Kairi, smiling, "But I'm not giving up." They both froze in their tracks, staring at me with wide eyes. Only now did I see that Mickey had been following me as well. I quirked an eyebrow at him and he bashfully answered my silent question, "I was worried. That, and Minnie wanted to invite the three of you over for dinner." I nodded, "Alright. It shouldn't take us long to get there. Did Queen Minnie invite anyone else?" Mickey started listing them off, "Yup! Leon, Cloud, Cid, and Yuffie. Vincent might be coming, too." Sora did a little fist pump, making Kairi giggle, "Alright, let's go!"

I started following them, but something went off in the back of my mind. It sounded faint at first, but gradually turned into screaming, _I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!_ My eyes widened; it was her! But something was different. The voice sounded the same, but at the same time, it didn't … was this Kiri? I looked over my shoulder, trying to tell myself that it wasn't just me imagining things. Evidently it wasn't. When I turned around, there was something laying a little ways down the beach. I ran straight to it.

It was her … Hika. I called to the others over my shoulder, "Guys!" At first I just stared, but I had to make sure this wasn't just a dream. I lifted her in my arms, thinking to myself, _she's still as light as a feather._ I lightly laid my fingers on her lips as the others ran over to join me; she was breathing. Gently touching her cheek, I tried to wake her up, "Hika?" She stirred, her brow furrowing before opening to reveal a pair of jade green eyes. It made sense that her eye color was different; she was no longer a Soul Eater, right?

She looked around for a moment, but eventually her eyes focused on me. I grinned at her, "Good morning," I teased, "it took you long enough." She stared at me for a moment, then gave me a curious look and whispered, too quiet for me to hear.

"What?"

"Who are you?" she said louder. I flinched back slightly, looking down and hiding behind my bangs. I expected something like this to happen, after all, the day she first washed up on Destiny Islands she didn't have any memory … still, it hurt all the same. The others stayed silent as I took a deep, steadying breath. Then, I donned that same smile that Hika used to love, "I'm Riku, a friend of yours." Her eyes widened, reminding me off how she'd panicked the first time she woke up in Kairi's room. I stopped her, "It's okay, calm down. You're with friends here."

Suddenly, Sora ran on the other side of her, wearing that dopey looking smile he always wore, "Yeah! I'm Sora, this is Riku, and that's Kairi and King Mickey." He pointed behind me. She sat up to see who he was pointing to, her stomach growling as she did. Her cheeks dusted over with pink as she stared down at her belly. Kairi got to her feet, "Come on! We'll take you somewhere you can eat."

We helped her stand and I was about to help her get to the deck, but King Mickey grabbed my pant leg, "Can I talk to you?" I nodded and he continued as Sora, Kairi, and Hika walked away, "Well, it's just that, I don't want you to get your hopes up. Hika and Kiri were two halves of the same soul, which means that they were both technically the true light. That could be Kiri and Hika's light might have been the one that was released, or it could be the other way around. We have no way of knowing."

I smiled, "I know she's Hika, she has to be. Why else would she have woken up and responded when I called her that? Although, I'm not sure we should take her to the castle tonight, Leon never did warm up to her." Mickey thought for a moment before looking back up at me, "Well, just be careful; even if she is Hika, you have no guarantee that she'll end up feeling that same way she did before." I considered that for a moment, but Kiri's voice resounded in my head one last time before fading completely, _Tch, please, there's no way she wouldn't love you._

That single sentence gave me the last bit of confidence that I needed to say,

"We'll start out the way we did the first time; as friends. Then, eventually, we'll fall in love … all … over … again. I know we will."

NOTE: Alright, that's it! If you have any final thoughts, just leave them in the comment column. At this point, I find myself wondering, "This has been such a wild ride for Hika, the poor girl. What was it like for you?" Even if you haven't commented before, feel free to put whatever comes to mind in the comment column. By the way, now is the time for requests for the 'What if…' series! Don't be shy!


	32. What If: Ouran High School Host Club

**What if …**

_**Host Club!**_

"Hey, Riku!" I called down the hall, "Come see this!"

Riku walked calmly into our room, looking a little surprised by my sudden burst of energy, "What is it?" I pointed excitedly at the new world outside the ship's window. He quirked an eyebrow, "It looks like a school."

Mickey walked into the room, "We can land if you want to. After all, we could all use a break."

Vincent was sitting on the bed across from me, letting Akiko play with his hair. He shrugged indifferently and Akiko was to absorbed in what she was doing to pay any attention to us.

"It looks nice; let's go check it out!" Kairi, who was sitting next to me, jumped off the bed smiling. Sora sat next to Vincent, grinning in agreement.

Riku agreed and we landed the ship, but Vincent refused to take part and Yui was still sleeping in his room, probably cuddling with Akiko, so we went on without them. As soon as we stepped out we walked up the front steps of the school and wandered around a bit.

One of the signs above a door caught my eye, "Music room three?" Riku and the others shrugged, so I just opened the door, "This school must be pretty well off if it can afford three different music rooms." Rose petals suddenly flooded over us as the door opened. I felt a little nervous, so I backed toward Kairi.

A tall blond haired boy greeted Kairi and me with a charming smile and two red roses, "My, what lovely young ladies we have here. It is always a delight to see new flowers blooming in our garden of beauty. Come in, let the Ouran Host Club entertain you." _Who's blooming? _Kiri remarked in disgust. I frowned inwardly at Kiri's comment, but soon found myself staring into the blond's lavender eyes, completely swept away. He gently urged Kairi and me into the room and led us to a couch. The others followed silently, not sure what to make of the strange man.

A couple orange haired twins sitting on a couch across from us grinned slyly. They quickly sat on either side of us, one taking my hand in his, "What brings you ladies here? Are you looking for some fun?"

"Hikaru!" the blond-haired man shouted, "take it easy, you don't even know what type they're here for yet!"

The other twin smiled innocently, "You were supposed to ask them boss. We just assumed that they'd already told you they were here for the brotherly love package and that's why you had them sit here."

Kairi leaned toward me as the trio started arguing. "Hey, Hika, do you have any idea what's going on?"

I looked toward Kairi and noticed that she had a confused smile on her face. _Someone's enjoying herself, _Kiri said with a laugh. I chuckled softly and answered Kairi with a shake of my head.

A brown haired boy sat some tea on the coffee table in front of us, interrupting the argument, "You shouldn't **assume** anything, Kaoru." He glanced at toward us, "Please, don't let Hikaru and Kaoru scare you off."

"I'm not going to get scared," Kairi commented. This caught the mischievous-looking twin's attention, and he inched closer to a very happy Kairi.

The other twin grinned at me and gave me a small kiss on the cheek. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Yes, please don't let us scare you off." Kairi's twin turned toward me and looked me in the eyes, "Besides, twins are always best, right? It's like having two loves for the price of one." I stammered, not exactly sure what to say. The whole time Kiri giggled in the back of my mind.

I quickly stood, my head spinning. _I shouldn't be enjoying this as much as Kairi! _I thought. The first thing I saw when the dizziness subsided was Riku's slightly annoyed stare. This brought me back to reality; I needed to find help, and fast.

_I know! Sora will help! _I didn't need to look far for Sora. He was marching toward Kairi and her host with an angry glare on his face. Sora was silent, but you could tell what he was thinking, _get your hands off my woman! _That meant Sora would be no help to me anytime soon. Who was left?

_Mickey! _I scanned the room for Mickey. He was near the door, looking a bit uncomfortable. I let out a surprised squeak when I saw why. Leaving Kairi and the twins behind, I ran over and hugged the little blond five-year-old that was glomping Mickey. "You're so adorable!"

"Takeshiiiii!" The boy squealed loudly, mostly out of surprise. I was about to say something to calm him down, but a giant shadow suddenly loomed over me.

"Hey," a deep voice said in monotone. I turned to see who the speaker was, and found myself staring at him in awe. He was tall, dark, and handsome, just like the men in books! I stared up at him in admiration, my eyes sparkling. I hated to admit it, especially with Riku nearby, but this man was definitely making me swoon.

The man stared down at me, his expression blank. I accidentally dropped the little boy, not realizing until I heard a small voice say, "Ow." I jumped back in surprise and tried to figure out who had spoken. When I saw the adorable boy on the ground with tears in his eyes, I immediately began apologizing. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

I tried to help him up, but the dashing man, who I guessed was named Takeshi, scooped the boy up in his arms before I could. "Mitsukuni," Takeshi said. Was it just me, or did his voice get deeper since he last spoke? _I'm pretty sure it's just you, _Kiri replied in amusement. _You know, this is the first time I've seen you swoon so badly. _

"You; be quiet," I told Kiri, my cheeks burning.

Mitsukuni looked at me with a sad expression. "But we didn't say anything!"

I shook my head. "No, don't worry, I wasn't talking to you?"

He tilted his head. "Then who were you talking to?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but I felt someone tugging on my capris. "You might not want to mention that," Mickey advised quietly.

I looked around, trying to find a reasonable answer. "Riku!" I pointed to him. "Be quiet!"

Riku raised one eyebrow in confusion. "I never said anything, either," he said with a smirk that told me he knew what was going on. I pouted and shot him a look that said, _help me! _He seemed to get the message and started to walk toward me, but a loud shout grabbed everyone's attention.

"Get your hands off my woman!" Sora yelled, ready for battle with his keyblade drawn. The twins glanced at him, unamused, then went back to flirting with Kairi. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" Sora shouted.

"What's this?" one of the twins asked.

"Something about 'his woman'," the other replied.

They stared at Sora for a moment, then turned back toward each other. "Not a chance."

"Kairi! How can you be okay with this?" Sora asked.

Kairi opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious laugh. "Oh-hohohohoho!" The ground suddenly began to shake and a giant rotating platform rose from the ground. "Such drama! Jealousy! Hidden feelings!" the person on top of the platform exclaimed. "A love square sure to please the fans everywhere!"

I stared at the odd girl. "What?" Sora and I asked simultaneously.

The girl laughed and hopped off her platform. She looked us all over, her gaze stopping on Sora. "You! You won't fit the storyline at all! You need a character change!"

"Not again," the twins said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"What?" Sora asked again in a quiet voice.

The girl was about to reply, but someone cut her off. "Now, now, Renge, let's not worry the customers." I followed the sound of the voice, only to see a dark haired man with glasses standing in a corner, holding a little black book. Where did he come from?

_He's been there the whole time, _Kiri pointed out. _He keeps writing in that book of his. _"You couldn't have told me that sooner?" I muttered.

Renge turned her head to me, an evil gleam in her eye. "You! You're perfect for the role of the deranged transfer student who eventually finds solace in the art of black magic!" She paused for a minute and pointed to a space where no one was standing. "Here is your love interest!"

Another pedestal rose from the ground the minute she finished shouting. A cloaked figure stood on it, definitely not as enthusiastic as Renge. Now that I think about it, he looked downright baffled. "How did I get here?" Renge started to rant to the poor man about his 'image.'

_Well, that's interesting. A man who plays with puppets, _Kiri noted. "Well, everyone has their own hobbies," I replied. I turned back to Renge; to my surprise, Sora was once again her victim.

"Now, back to you!" Renge screamed, pointing at Sora. "First things first; that starfish hair _has _to go!" She pulled a giant bottle of hair gel out of nowhere and attacked Sora. "You won't get away!"

Sora started screaming in protest. Soon, almost the entire club was freaking out. I looked around the room for a way out. There was no way I wanted to stay in that place. I caught a glimpse of the man with the puppet sneaking out through a large wooden door. Weird. I didn't see that door when we first got here.

I followed him out the door, but when I got into the hallway, he was gone. I started looking around for him, but ended up running straight into someone. "Oh, no, I'm sorry!" I said, offering the stranger a hand.

"Thanks." He took my hand. "It's alright," he assured me with a smile.

"Hey, you're that guy from earlier, aren't you?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm Haruhi."

I smiled. "Oh, well, my name's Hika." I looked back at the door to the music room. "It's so crazy in there! How can you stand being part of that?"

Haruhi shrugged. "I guess I just got used to it."

"You must have been in there for awhile." You'd have to be there for a long time to be calm and used to that craziness.

"Yeah, I guess I have." Haruhi and I stood there for a few minutes, not saying much of anything.

"Huh," I said after awhile.

"What?" Haruhi asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You know, you're really pretty for a guy."

Haruhi scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, uh, thank you."

Before we could say any more, Riku burst through the door. "Come on, Hika. We're leaving."

"But why?" I asked, pouting slightly. I had just managed to find someone normal, and now we had to leave.

Riku just motioned to the door. A few seconds later, Sora threw the door open. "I hate this place!" He pointed to his hair, which had been gelled down. I guessed that his new hairstyle was Renge's doing.

Sora shook his head, and his hair poofed back out to its original style. "Sora, it didn't look that bad!" Kairi came out into the hallway too. Mickey followed behind her, a worried look on his face.

"I think leaving would be a good idea," Mickey said. I waved goodbye to Haruhi, then followed Riku and the others outside the school. It was a bit of a relief to back on the ship.

Dale poked his head into the pilot room. "Hey! How'd it go?" Our only reply was a simultaneous groan. He raised an eyebrow. "Sorry I asked."

Meanwhile, in Music Room Three…

"That was interesting," Hikaru and Kaoru commented. I nodded in agreement; today had been quite…different. Tamaki-senpai was still trying to calm the other guests down. I think those girls had been more surprised by our odd visitors than any of the host club. Kyouya-senpai stood in the corner, writing down stuff in that book of his. He looked angrier than usual, and soon started mumbling to himself. So, those people weren't in his records after all.

"Haru-chaaaaan," Hunny-senpai cried, pulling on a sleeve of my jacket. "The strange girl dropped me." He wiped a few tears from his eyes and sniffled.

"It'll be okay, Hunny-senpai." I tried to reassure him.

"Mitsukuni," Mori-senpai interrupted. "It's time for your nap."

"Okay, Takeshi." Hunny-senpai yawned as Mori-senpai picked him up. "Takeshi," he said after a moment. "Can I have a piece of cake first?"

"No, Mitsukuni. It's bad for your teeth."

"Awwh, okay." Hunny-senpai sighed and let Mori-senpai carry him off to bed.

"Where'd they go?" Renge ran up to me. "Haruhi, did you see where they went?" I shook my head. "They created the perfect plot, too." She paused for a second. I shivered when I noticed that gleam in her eye. "They're out there somewhere. They won't get away from me!" Renge laughed and hopped back on her pedestal. With an evil chuckle, she lowered her pedestal into the ground and disappeared. I still found myself wondering how Renge even installed the powerful motor. Wasn't this supposed to be a music room?

"Hey, are they gone?" someone asked, making me jump. I turned around, only to see a shivering Nekozawa-senpai peeking through the door. So, we weren't the only ones affected by the visitors.

"Yeah, they're gone, Nekozawa-sempai," I answered. He sighed in relief and shut the door.

Before I had the chance to do anything else, Tamaki-senpai walked toward me. Was it just me, or were his movements more exaggerated than usual? "Haruhi, did you see where those lovely young ladies went?"

"No, senpai."

"That's too bad! I was hoping to spend more time with them! I know! Kyouya, write this down! We must invite them back again sometime!"

Everyone, save me and Kyouya-senpai, looked at him with disgust and shouted, "No!"

NOTE: This 'What if…" chapter was a collaboration between me and my friend Miki Patricia. If you like her writing style, look her up.


	33. Yay! Good news!

Good news readers! School is over and I found my flash drive!

Soon, I'll be able to start writing again! I just have a few questions:

In the past, what did you like about my writing?

What should I work on to make my writing better?

I do plan on becoming a professional novelist, so should I use a pen name? If so, should I stick with Myra Elric?


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